Give Up Forever
by beenwithout
Summary: A year after Cassie's return to Camelot, tensions have risen and she and Merlin and Arthur have new challenges to overcome and new friends to help or hinder. Ryan Reyes is angry his best friend left him and even angrier to end up back in time in Camelot. Danielle is running from a secret from a neighboring kingdom and just might find hope. Sequel to Loose Ends For All Things
1. Chapter 1: No Place Like Home

**A/N: I'M BACK! Cassie was calling to me, I missed writing her, so I wrote this other character too to keep you from boredom with me. Next chapter is all about our favorite Camelot residents**

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As soon as the sun began to slant through the cracks in her window shutters, Danielle Greene was awake. She slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake the still sleeping figure that laid beside her.

She pulled off her nightgown, stretching her long body before tugging on a dress for work. She grabbed an apple out of the basket on the table and hurried out the door, heading to work.

It was still early and the sun had not yet burned off the mist of dawn, making the little outer town she lived in appear mysterious and beautiful, just for a few moments.

She shook off her thoughts and focused on reality, turning towards the castle and beginning to walk in its direction. As she threaded her way through the town she saw some of the other servants and staff making their way up to the little bridge that led to the main courtyard of the castle.

"Danielle!" she heard someone call her name and an unconscious smile took her lips. She turned, continuing to walk backwards, grinning as the man behind her huffed out an annoyed breath and jogged to catch up to her.

"You couldn't have waited?" he asked, his voice feigning annoyance, but his face incapable of keeping with the charade. He was too happy to see her.

"No" she said simply, before turning to walk forwards again, the smallest of smiles on her pretty face.

The two walked in silence for a minute, Danielle sneaking glances at him as she braided her long red-gold hair over one shoulder.

He was a mess, his dirty blonde hair sticking in every which direction, making him look like he'd just rolled out of bed, which he clearly had, judging by the state of his dress.

"Ethan" she said his name softly, pointing at his shirt to direct his attention from her to it. He looked down and let out an annoyed groan. The two slowed slightly as he fixed the shirt he'd had on backwards.

"Some days I'm not sure I'd even make it through the castle gates without you," he admitted, a lopsided grin on his face.

The woman shook her head, "It's doubtful," she agreed. They continued on their walk in silence, Danielle biting into her apple and munching quickly. The apple was nothing but a core by the time they reached the short drawbridge that led to the castle and she dropped it into the moat as they waited for the bridge to be lowered.

"Morning," the guard grunted as they walked past him into the castle courtyard. The poor man looked like he had been up all night, his shift probably coming to an end. His name was Naryn if she wasn't mistaken and she shot him a smile.

"Don't burn anything today," she reminded Ethan as he made the turn for the kitchens and she headed up the main steps.

With a mock glare, Ethan gave a short bow, "And make sure that her ladyship's hair is perfectly coifed," he teased back.

She laughed and dipped into a half curtsey, before turning back to the steps and entering the castle. The Lady Brenna, sister to the King of Moria was well into her forties, though she wished everyone to believe she was much younger and insisted on behaving as such. As her personal servant, Danielle helped her dress and ready her hair for the day. She helped the woman dye her hair once every few weeks to hide the strands of grey that had begun to lighten it. Brenna applied cream after cream, some imbibed with magic to keep her wrinkles from showing or to banish them altogether. Danielle was at her beck and call and spent most of her time fetching powder for the lady's face. She hated it, but it was a good position in the King's household and she had a small sister to look after.

At twenty years old, Danielle was too young to have a six year old to keep track of, but when her father died soon after Leanne was born and her stepmother, Leanne's mother, had died five years later, she loved the little girl far too much to let her go. She had arranged for the girl to study with the court librarian, so she would learn to read. Danielle's father had taught her, but she didn't have the time to teach the smaller girl. In exchange, Leanne helped the librarian with shelving and cleaning. She was young to have a job, but it was a good one, and there was not much else to do at her age.

Prior to waking Lady Brenna, Danielle had much to do. She had to prepare the lady's breakfast and get her low-cut gown of the day ready. Her hair rollers were to be heated and her makeup laid out on her vanity for application. The woman was so pressed and coiffed that it was impossible to tell what she really looked like.

Unless she was seen first thing in the morning. The way Danielle had to. The Lady Brenna wasn't a hideous woman. In fact, she had probably been rather beautiful in her youth, but years of makeup and dirty looks had made her skin wrinkle and sag despite all the firming salves she slathered on her skin each night. Her hair which had once been dark and shiny had thinned and faded and was now laced with gray underneath the dye she rubbed into it.

Had she simply been unattractive in her older years, Danielle would not have minded working for the woman. But she was as ugly on this inside as she was on the out. She was nasty and rude and mistreated the girl who rose before dawn to wake her. She was unforgiving and had a short temper that flared easily.

Hours later, Danielle finally pushed back the curtains, "Good morning my lady" she recited in a practiced tone of pleasant but not too chipper, as the lady was not a morning person.

Brenna groaned and rolled over, throwing a pale arm over her face, "Must you be so loud in the mornings?" she complained.

"Apologies my lady" Danielle curtseyed and lowered her voice.

The older woman rolled herself out of bed, and glared out the window at the bright sunshine coming in through the glass before situating herself at the table in her room on which sat a large breakfast spread.

She looked over everything with a critical eye before turning to her servant, "Why are there no grapes?" she asked, glaring at the redhead.

"Apologies my lady, there were no grapes in the kitchen this morning, I believe they are no longer in season and any that we had saved have been eaten," Danielle spoke with a bowed head.

The lady made a disgusted noise, "Probably eaten by greedy servants like you," she snapped and began to eat her breakfast, grumbling through it, though she ate everything on her plates.

For the rest of the morning she ordered Danielle around, snapping her commands and berating the girl over nothing. It was not much different from any other day and the young woman had become expert at tuning her out.

Around midday, Lady Brenna sent her on an errand, to fetch a jewelry box from her sister in law, the queen. The queen was a much kinder woman, and Danielle was much more willing to deal with her.

"Enter!" the woman's voice floated through the door.

The servant opened the door quietly and entered the room, falling into a deep curtsey and keeping her head down.

"Rise, child, speak" the queen's voice was soft and melodic. When Danielle looked up, she saw the bright blonde locks and wide blue eyes of the woman in front of her. There were laugh lines around her eyes and her mouth, lines she made no effort to hide, wearing only a touch of rouge by way of makeup and a lavender gown that was much simpler than anything her sister in law would wear. The queen's room was much more modest than Lady Brenna's as well, with a few tapestries hanging on the wall, a simple white bedspread on the large beautifully carved bed, and an unadorned mirror over a plain wooden vanity, nothing like the marble and gold monstrosity sitting in Brenna's room.

"The Lady Brenna sent me your majesty. She is requesting a jewelry box. She said the top was decorated in emeralds and that you would know which I meant, my lady," the redhead still kept her eyes cast downward.

She saw the queen get up, and walk to a small wardrobe, which she opened and slowly sorted through. From what Danielle's curious eyes could tell, it was full of jewelry boxes. She removed one and closed the door.

"This must be the one she's looking for. Here you are, child," she handed the box to the girl and returned to her chair where she had been reading.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Danielle dipped into another deep courtesy and scurried from the room. As kind as the queen was, she was still terrifying.

As she walked back to Lady Brenna's rooms, she observed the box in her hands. It was small but ornate, the metal carved in intricate patterns, swirling and curling around each other and what had to be thirty jewels of varied sizes set in the top and along the sides of the box no bigger than her outstretched hand. The jewels themselves were so stunning, she couldn't take her eyes off them and ran her fingers over each cut emerald in its inlay in the box.

She was so engrossed in the box that she didn't pay attention to where she was going. She slammed into someone, the box falling from her grasp and the sword that the man she slammed into was holding clattering to the ground. Both fell, and landed hard on the ground.

Danielle looked up and felt the blood drain from her face. Prince Samuall sputtered his annoyance as he heaved himself from the ground and picked up his sword. While the queen was kind, her son took after the other side of the family. Samuall was cruel and angry. He had been through six servants already in the last two years and had beaten the hell out of all of them before he dismissed them, demanding to his father that they be executed for failing to follow his commands exactly. He was even unkind to his poor young wife, a princess from another kingdom, left at the castle of Moria by her father and forced into a miserable marriage with an awful prince in order to solidify relations between the two kingdoms. Even she had arrived in court with bruises and scratches until the king had a talk with his son about appearances.

"How dare you, you stupid bitch," the prince cried stabbing his sword towards the girl who still lay on the ground, clutching the jewelry box that her hands had found moments after she hit the ground. "Don't you know who I am?!"

She opened her mouth but her voice stuck in her throat and all she could do was stare in terror at the sword pointed with startling accuracy at her hammering heart.

Samuall swung his sword aside and reached out with a gloved hand to grab Danielle by her hair and yank her upwards, "I asked you a question," he growled in her ear as he heaved her up.

Danielle let out a cry before snapping her mouth shut, realizing that it would not help her situation. It didn't. The Prince threw her into the wall, his hand not leaving her hair. She held in a whimper.

"You imbecile! How dare you knock me? Do you wish to die?" he shouted at her. Several servants had passed the corridor and were staring in terror and sympathy. She cowered against the wall, while the prince shook her by her hair.

"Hey!" someone shouted and Danielle's heart sunk in fear, it was a voice she recognized, "Let her go!" Ethan shouted as he approached, his kitchen boy apron only serving to make him look more innocent.

Samuall dropped her, letting her body slide down the wall into a heap, strands of her hair he had ripped out floating down next to her.

"Fool boy," the prince smiled as Ethan made it to her side, cupping her face and looking her over for injury. The kitchen boy had just given her a relieved smile when his face suddenly froze in an expression of agony. Danielle looked up to see the prince standing over him, his sword buried deeply in Ethan's side, right between the ribs and into his heart.

"No!" she screamed as Samuall removed his sword from her best friend's side. "No, no, no," her hands moved frantically around his wound, trying to figure out where to press them to put pressure on the wound even though a small voice in the back of her head reminded her that it would not help. Pulling him to her chest, she stroked his hair, tears dripping from her face onto his, as one hand soaked with his blood and another ran through the dirty blonde locks on his head.

Samuall had moved on, evidently bored now that he had shed blood, and he wandered away, the blood dripping off his sword onto the stone floors he walked on.

"Danielle…" Ethan muttered.

"Shh, its okay, don't speak," she gasped through her tears. They both knew she was lying. She felt it when the life left him, there as he lay in her arms, her sobs wracking both their bodies. A small crowd had gathered around her and one of the guards, Michael, a friend, gently pulled Ethan away from her, while Gella, one of the other servants held her, pulling her arms away from the body of her best friend.

She was covered in blood, and a mess, her hair in disarray and her cries loud and broken. But she didn't care. The only thing she could see was Ethan's lifeless body being carried away from her by two guards. She hadn't yet risen from the ground and fought the woman pulling her up, her hands scrambling for purchase on the cold stone floor, her clean finger scraping against the jewelry box. She clutched it, bringing it into her lap and curling around it, hysterical and crying. Suddenly she found herself being lifted, curled up around herself and carried down to the kitchens, and to the spare servants quarters. She was laid on a bed, by a large man who was the stable master if she wasn't mistaken. Left there, she cried herself out. Her sobs devolving to soft whimpers and her eyes becoming less swollen with tears. Her hands still shook and her body ached with the pain of her beating and of Ethan's death. A death brought about because of her. Because he was trying to protect her. Another sob made its way out of her mouth and she forced herself to sit up, to stop crying, to breathe deeply. There was nothing she could do to take back the death of her best friend. But there was no way she would stay in Moria, serving the family of the man who had just murdered him in cold blood.

It was clear what she must do. She moved herself into a sitting position and breathed deeply. She would have to get Leanne. She couldn't leave without her. As she stood, the jewelry box she had forgotten about tumbled out of her skirts. It made a clang on the floor and popped open, a string of emeralds and old spilling onto the stone. The necklace was beautiful, but Danielle was tempted to kick it away. Her fascination with the jewelry box was the reason for Ethan's death. A moment later she reconsidered, after the anger that flared within her had died, she realized that the jewelry box and the necklace within would be able to pay her way for a few months, maybe even a year. She would have to leave the kingdom, as she would be wanted for theft and leaving her position at the palace. And if Samuall managed to skew the story, maybe murder.

Sometime during her cry, someone had left a bucket of water for her just inside the door. She rinsed her hands in it, scrubbing until most of the bloodstain had come off. Next she stripped off her clothes, finding a dress in one of the small drawers in the cabinet next to the bed that fit well enough and pulling that on instead. Better a little short than covered in blood. The dress had deep pockets she used to store the jewelry box in. She pulled the tie out of her hair and re-braided it, coiling it into a bun at the back of her head. When she felt presentable, she kicked her ruined dress under the bed and pulled open the door.

Leanne was probably in the library already and she had to find her sister. She checked that no one was watching and slipped from the room, keeping her head down as she ducked down corridors. Thankfully the castle wasn't busy this time of day. She knew she had to hurry, as Lady Brenna probably could already tell she was missing. The woman had little patience.

The library was a massive room in the center of the castle that seemed to go on for ages. Danielle was unsure she had ever actually seen the four corners of it.

"Leanne!" she hissed as she entered the room, seeing no one at Lister's desk. When there was no answer, she cautiously moved into the room, her steps fast and silent in her worn boots. "Leanne!" she called, louder this time. Still no answer. She continued down the main hallway between the bookshelves turning her head back and forth as she did, searching for her sister. Suddenly, something slammed into the back of her legs, wrapping small arms around her middle.

"Dani!" the six year old cried, excited to see her sister in the middle of the day.

The older sister turned and leaned down, so she was at eye level with the smaller girl, "Lee, sweetheart, we need to leave, right now. Where is your bag?" she asked. An expression of confusion crossed the child's face but she pointed back towards the desk. "Okay, lets go. We're leaving to go on an adventure!" Danielle forced a smile and took the little girl's hand.

"What kind of adventure?" Leanne asked as her sister stood and took her hand, dragging her towards the door, barely stopping at Lister's desk to pick up the small satchel the child took to the library every day.

"A secret one, we cannot tell anyone," she insisted. Danielle dragged her sister through the corridors, towards the castle exit.

"Not even Ethan?" the child asked and her sister felt her step falter as pain shot through her chest at the still fresh wound.

She breathed deeply, before starting to walk again, pulling her sister along quickly, "No, honey, not even Ethan" she choked out.

They made it out of the castle, Leanne somehow aware of the silence needed of her. Walking across the courtyard, Danielle's heart thumped against her ribs, threatening to burst out of her chest in her fear and anxiety. Her palms were sweating, slipping around her sister's small hands. She kept her head down and the child, seeing her, did the same.

"Danielle!" a guard called as they crossed the drawbridge. She froze, terrified that she had been caught, her mind racing, wondering what would happen to Leanne when she was gone. She turned to see a guard she knew, but whose name she could not remember. "Where are you two headed?" he asked with a smile. Her breathing evened, he didn't know.

"Leanne isn't feeling well, so I snuck out to take her home. But you have no idea where I am if anyone asks, okay?" she shot him a grin and Leanne, bless her heart, coughed for effect.

The man's smile turned sympathetic, "Feel better little princess," he said to the child, the turned to her sister, "I haven't seen you at all today," he added with a wink.

"Thank you!" Danielle called over her shoulder as she hustled the girl down the road towards their small house. Her mind was flying through plans and contingencies. They had to get out of the city. Out of the kingdom would be best. Of the neighboring Kingdoms she figured Camelot was their best option. The kingdom was prosperous and often took in refugees. The King there, Uther didn't have a close relationship with Moria's king and queen, so it was unlikely she would be found there. They would need supplies, as Camelot was a few days journey, and what little money and valuables they had.

"Get your things, only what you can carry," she instructed her sister as they burst through the door. The girl scurried to the back of their home and began to pack her clothes into her bag. Danielle set about packing a bag of food, the little they had in their home. Bread and a few small bundles of meats and cheeses, a few tomatoes, and a few bruised apples. A skein of water joined them, though she knew they would have to refill. She moved over to the small chest of drawers she and Leanne shared, helping the girl pack extra socks and undergarments before adding her own clothes to the bag of food. As discretely as she could, she plucked the jewelry box from her pocket and placed it on a shelf above the smaller girl's line of vision. A clay pot sat on the same shelf and she opened it, dumping its contents onto the wood shelf. A set of gold earrings and three gold wedding bands that had belonged to each of their parents spilled out along with two silver bracelets designed for tiny wrists. She deposited them all into the jewelry box and slipped it into a hidden pocket in the bag wrapped in a pair of mens pants she sometimes wore under her dress when she had to go riding. They had been Ethan's when he was a few years younger and a few inches shorter. She fit them well since she was so tall, but the thought of her now dead friend made her throat choke up and her eyes blur with tears.

Blinking them away, she opened one of the few cabinets by their small kitchen and pulled out the knives they owned. Two were for the kitchen, one of which went in her bag and the smaller of which she tucked into her boot. The third had belonged to her father and she tied a belt around her waist, adding the sheath of the knife to it so it sat at her hip within reach. She slipped the compass that had also belonged to their father into her pocket and gave the single room that made up their home one last look over.

"You ready?" she asked Leanne who was handling this startlingly well for a six year old.

With a smile, the little girl skipped up to her and took her hand, "Lets go on our adventure!" she began tugging her sister out the door.

"Yes, lets" Danielle agreed with a small smile, pulling Leanne's cloak around her shoulders and throwing on her own. It was only early spring and the air was still cool, the nights promising to be colder. They walked out the door, as if off for a regular stroll, or to pick up food from the market. The door closed behind them and she felt a twinge of sadness at leaving the only home she had ever known, but she could not stay. She could not live in a kingdom where the future king had so senselessly murdered her best friend. Her Ethan. A man she could have found herself in love with. One who had been so kind to Leanne and her both, and one who had given up his life to protect her. She refused to make that in vain.

So they walked through the town, nodding to those she knew, but for the most part keeping her head down while Leanne hummed to herself, lost with her head in the clouds as the child was wont to do. Camelot was to the east but they had not yet made it out of the town to the main paths. Staying on the highway was dangerous, but it was better than getting lost, and it gave them an opportunity to possibly sleep in an inn or a tavern, rather than under the stars.

They had made it past the last of the small houses that marked the end of the town when the bells from the castle began to toll. Panicking, Danielle scooped Leanne into her arms and began to run, ignoring the child's protests and questions. It wasn't far to the woods, and if she ran fast enough she could lose the castle guards and patrols in the dense trees. So much for the highway plan.

From what she could tell, no one was on their trail yet, but Danielle refused to take any chances, sprinting through the trees, her muscles burning from her speed and the tightness with which she was clutching her sister to her chest. The girl's cries and questions had silenced and she simply clung to her sister, trying to hold herself up, had buried in the older girls shoulder.

The trees became denser as she ran, and she heard nothing behind her but the now growing faint tolling of the bells. She was headed east, but unsure of where the road was and where she was in the woods. Finally her legs almost gave out under her and she stumbled into a tree, letting Leanne slide down her body to stand on her own. But she wasted no time, her breath coming in pants, taking her sister's hand and walking, still East, her pace quick so that the little girl struggled to keep up. She didn't slow for a long while. Until the sound of the bells was a faint echo in the distance.

Finally she stopped, figuring they were safe enough for the time being to stop and have a drink. She had only just pulled the skein out of her bag when a man, apparently fallen from the sky, slammed shoulder first into her.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed, I'm a bit rusty, so constructive criticism is more than welcome. Chapter 2 will go up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: Crashing In

**A/N: I got a review and I was excited, so here's chapter 2! Just a note on things in Camelot. Since this is a canon divergence, some things (things that Cassie had no direct effect on) still happened in Camelot despite her interference in history. Things like Morgause, and as you'll see further along, other things that happened in the show. So if it gets confusing tell me, and I'll be better. Enjoy!**

 **XXX**

"Cassie" someone whispered in her ear. She groaned and burrowed her head deeper into the pillows. "Cass, you have to wake up now," the voice was a bit more forceful, but just as playful as it had been.

"No" she mumbled, rolling back into someone's chest and snuggling into it. The chest in question vibrated with laughter and its owner pressed a kiss to her forehead, then one to her nose, each of her cheeks, her jaw and finally settling on her lips. She sighed into it and leaned up towards him, tilting her head to change the angle of the kiss so she could sweep her tongue into his mouth. He let out a tiny groan against her lips.

Prince Arthur was a really good kisser, but she was even better.

"If you don't stop now, we aren't getting up," she said, pulling back a fraction and looking up into his sleep-clouded blue eyes. They were eyes that she was slowly getting used to waking up to in the mornings, and it made her happy that his face was the first one she saw every morning. Unless Merlin showed up early and traumatized himself, waking them both with the loud clang of whatever he had dropped and his awkward apologies and sounds of disgust that earned him pillows thrown in his direction.

He knocked pretty consistently after that. Unless something was attacking the castle or some other immediate concern.

The prince leaning over her smiled, but his eyes were dark, "You're right, and you have to go before any of the servants see you," he admitted though he looked like he wanted her to stay right where she was. Sliding his hand around her waist wasn't a good way to convince her to go either, but yet, there it was.

With a grin, she leaned up and kissed him again, keeping it short, before she sat up and stretched. His fingers tightened on her hip and her smile grew. "You're the one who woke me up to leave, not my fault if you like the view on my way out," she winked at him and he rolled his eyes good naturedly.

Rolling out of the bed, she stretched again, this time raising all the way up on her toes, her fingers to the sky before dropping her arms and looking around for the nightdress she had worn to his room the night before.

After a year in Camelot since her return, she had more or less gotten used to dresses. Though she still missed pants and often wished she'd had the foresight to pack a suitcase for her return. She'd already confused the hell out of Gwen trying to show her how to make twenty first century style underwear.

She pulled the dress on and turned back to the bed, doing up the buttons at the back of her neck, as she watched her prince fall back into his pillows and close his eyes, ready to go back to sleep until his servant came to wake him. Slowly, so as not to alert him -though in all honesty, it was probably useless since he was such a good hunter he could hear her, she was sure- she tiptoed around the bed to his side and jumped on him with a cry, giggling at his annoyed groan that became a laugh.

"Go, before I make you stay," the prince muttered, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"You say that like it's a threat," she teased, getting up off the bed and starting for the door, talking over her shoulder.

"It is" he responded as she opened the door, and the look he gave her almost made her close it again. But she knew if she stayed any longer the servants would find them and she would be the talk of the castle. It would get back to the king. It would not be good. At all.

Since her refusal of Arthurs proposal, Uther had seemed to be under the impression that she didn't want to be with him at all, and had become noticeably colder towards his guest. The two assured him that they did indeed plan on being together, but wanted to take their time. The man didn't seem to understand it, but had eased up ever so slightly on the young princess. Or fake princess really.

The issue was the only thing about her life in Camelot that wasn't more or less perfect. That and the fact that she would never know how Game Of Thrones ended.

But none of it really bothered her. She missed home and her family, but she had a family in Camelot. Arthur and Merlin and Gwen and Morgana, and even Gaius. The people had come to accept her and she was happier than she had been in a long time in her old life.

Managing to slip into her own room unnoticed, she smiled at another mission accomplished. Her room was bright with early morning sunlight and she hummed to herself as she pulled off her dress and walked to her wardrobe for a fresh one. She wanted a bath, but she would wait until Gwen came and checked on her rather than bothering the girl so early. Instead she put on a simple gown and began to work on the plans she had to propose to the king. She would run them by Arthur first, to get his approval and his backing. The plans were for a school for the local children, children of servants and butchers and blacksmiths who lived in Camelot and in the lower town. It would give the children something to do during the day other than throw rotten fruit at whoever was in the stocks, and would give parents a place to send their kids while they worked. The education was an added bonus.

Cassie was never good with children, but she deeply believed in education and hoped to help at the school as much as she could. She wanted to ensure that the children of Camelot would grow to become educated and informed about their kingdom. It would make them better citizens and of more value to their king. It seemed silly to her to only educate the rich and titled. Those children would only grow to understand their lives of privilege, rather than have an understanding of the lives of poor children and the vast majority of the subjects of Camelot. By educating the subjects, they could grow to become advisors to the king, or learn how to better grow their businesses or manage their workers.

She had barely begun to review her work from the day before when the door to her room burst open and Merlin came hurtling through it.

"Cass-Cassie" he panted, "We have a problem," he informed her.

 **XXX**

When Merlin had said 'problem' she had expected an issue, maybe even a quest. But the man standing in the midst of what looked like a small hurricane of magic just outside the castle gates was not at all what she had expected.

"What do we do?" she asked the two men standing with her on a parapet, staring down as the hurricane got bigger and bigger. The question was mostly for Merlin since he was the one who actually knew anything about magic, but Arthur answered anyway.

"Just use your magic to stop him," he snapped. Arthur's attitude towards magic had not much changed since his discovery of Merlin's magic. It had not helped that while Cassie was gone a woman, a sorceress named Morgouse had come to Camelot and shown Arthur visions of his mother. He claimed they were false, but Merlin had explained to her that the only way to convince Arthur not to kill his father for what his mother told him, was to convince the prince that the sorceress had been lying to him.

It had not done much to improve his opinion of magic. However, he had not told a soul of Merlin's powers, so there may have yet been hope. The expression on his face at his mention of his servant's magic indicated there was little.

"It's not that simple," the dark haired boy explained, "I don't know what he's doing, I would have to find a spell to counteract it, it's complicated."

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Then lets just kill him," he suggested, his patience clearly thin.

"We don't know that it will stop whatever his magic is though," Cassie reminded them.

"Then what would you suggest?" he demanded. It wasn't often that Arthur got short with her. She was generally above his bad moods, but she could tell he was lashing out because he was stressed and angry and didn't respect magic enough to understand it. He had expressly forbidden Merlin to use it ever again in his presence or otherwise, even in the most dire of circumstances, citing the boys own safety from the king as his reason, but with sure ulterior motives. Merlin of course ignored him completely and had returned to using magic in secret. But whenever a lucky blow hit a competitor or an enemy soldier fell on his own sword, Arthur would fix his servant with the most murderous of stares and storm away, livid and confused.

So Cassie took the simple approach, trying to keep magic out of it for everyone's comfort, "We go negotiate with him. You know I'm good at that. I just need you to come with me, be my big stick so to speak," she smiled at him.

His dark mood cracked as he recalled a forest adventure the two had been on to rescue Merlin. "Yes, your favorite advice from your King Roosevelt," he agreed.

The brunette had to force herself not to laugh at 'King Roosevelt' and turned to go, to hide the smile that threatened to split her face and erupt into giggles.

Walking out of the palace gates, she could feel the magic thick in the air, like the static before a storm. The winds created by his hurricane whipped her braid back over her shoulder and Arthurs hand tightened around hers in trepidation. The man stood at the center of the swirling magic, hooded, his face in shadow, but his glowing gold eyes shining out from those shadows. The prince stopped, his hand on hers tight, keeping her from moving forward.

"We have come to speak to you. To hear what you have to say," Cassie called to him, and watched as his head moved up, the gold in his eyes fading as he dropped his hands. The magic remained, swirling in the air, as if of its own accord, a force of nature now, more than a force of humanity. The sorcerer walked through it, and the magic didn't touch him, instead moving around him like he was pushing it aside. He came to stand in front of them and Cassie was surprised to find he was young, maybe Arthur's age and good looking, sandy blonde hair falling over his face and piercing green eyes staring out from under his hood.

"You wish to hear my grievances?" he asked, his tone sarcastic. Cassie set her features and nodded, holding herself in the most regal position she could manage. The circulation in her fingers was slowing in her prince's tight grip. The sorcerer smiled, but there was no mirth in it, "I wish the king to know what it is like to be hunted, to have those you love sought out and executed, I wish him to know what it is to lose a loved one to his own crusade against magic," he spat the words and even Cassie took a step back.

The sorcerers eyes began to glow again and he chanted some sort of spell. Before she could even react, Arthur had yanked her behind his back, one hand on her and another on the hilt of his sword as he yanked it out of his belt. But the swirling magic around them had no fear of swords and at the glow of the sorcerer's eyes the magic flew towards them, gold and swirling straight into Arthur's chest.

She screamed, trying to pull him away, trying to stop the magic from hitting him, but it was no use. As quickly as it had begun, the magic disappeared, as did its wielder and the prince collapsed. Cassie attempted to hold him up, but he was much bigger than her and the best she could do was slow his descent to the ground, where she tried to rouse him, shaking him.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up" she repeated, her panic setting in, "I will personally murder you if you are not okay" she threatened, though even unconscious, he probably knew she had nothing behind it.

Merlin skidded to Arthurs side, dropping to his knees and checking the prince for pulse and vitals. He apparently had them because some of the servant's tension eased. He placed a hand over Arthur's chest and began to mutter incantations. Cassie winced at the thought of more magic, but the young warlock in front of her appeared not to notice. His eyes glowed and he removed his hand, watching expectantly but nothing happened. He tried again, another incantation but again, nothing.

By this point guards were converging on them and Merlin stopped his attempts, looking more worried by the second.

"Help us get him to Gauis," she instructed the guards once they reached the three, helping them lift the blonde man and leading the way as they walked into the castle, Merlin trailing behind, looking dejected.

She slammed open the door to Gauis' room, startling the old man briefly before he saw the prince being carted in by Camelot's finest. They placed him on a table and all moved back, hovering in uncertainty. The man they usually took their orders from was unconscious on the table and they were at a loss for what to do.

"Give the man space to work," Cassie instructed, ushering them out the door with kind thanks despite the knot of nerves just below her sternum that pressed against her heart. She turned back to the room where Gaius was preforming tests on the prince. Merlin hovered just behind him, thrumming with nervous energy. She watched from her place by the door, her hands wringing with her nerves.

"What happened?" Gaius asked, prodding at Arthur's chest.

Merlin answered, "The sorcerer threw his magic into Arthur's chest," he told his guardian. The older man's frown deepened and he leaned over to listen to the prince's breathing.

"But it went _into_ his chest, disappeared inside it, inside him, whatever it is, you have to get it out," Cassie's voice was soft but panicked.

The physician nodded, giving the girl a tight lipped smile, feeling the prince's head for a temperature and pulling back his eyelid to check responsiveness.

Without warning, Arthur sat up straight, hands flying wildly and eyes wide open. The physician gasped and backed up, Merlin and Cassie surging forward, concern in their expressions.

"Where is he?" the prince demanded, whipping his head around to see around the room. His eyes were wide and wild, "Cassie," her name was a plea and she went to him immediately. She took his hand, squeezing his fingers tightly between hers. He finally looked down at her, his expression easing. "What happened?" he asked, realizing, as he must, that he had missed some important parts of the story.

"The sorcerer attacked you with his magic, and it knocked you unconscious. We don't know what the effect will be, but it was nothing immediate," she told him.

He sighed, his muscles untensing and his fingers loosening around hers. "I feel fine, his magic must not have worked," he shrugged, swinging his legs over the edge of the table.

"He was too powerful for that," Merlin put in, his chest tightening at Arthurs wince in response to his words, but he continued anyway, "It has to be something else, there has to be more to his plan."

The blonde narrowed his eyes at his servant, "There is nothing more, and if there is you can just magic it away," he snapped. Cassie squeezed his fingers in warning, but he ignored her. "You see, this is why magic is outlawed in Camelot. You're the only one I've ever seen who hasn't used magic for evil. It corrupts those who use it," the anger in his eyes and his voice hurt his friend, Cassie could see it in the sad blue eyes of the man in front of him, who had only ever used magic to protect him.

"Arthur" she chastised, her tone sharp, and he looked down at her, his gaze still angry. Being there wasn't helping him calm down, "Come, lets go, I'll have Gwen bring us lunch in your rooms, I'm starving," she forced a smile, and tugged on the hand that was still in hers. He slid off the table and mumbled a thank you to Gaius as she dragged him out the door.

Their walk back to his rooms was silent, the nails on Cassie's free hand dug into her palm and she was sure Arthur could tell she was holding his hand too tight. When the doors to his rooms closed behind them she rounded on him, "What in the hell is wrong with you?" she snapped, "Merlin has only ever used his magic to protect you, your father and all of Camelot. I understand that you still fear magic, but you cannot turn that fear into anger at your friend!" she blew up at him.

Color flooded the prince's cheeks and he glared down at the woman he loved, "You cannot decide when I accept magic or even if I accept it. I may deal with it, but I have seen the terrible things it can do-" he cut off as he watched in horror as the candles burned brighter and higher, the flames dancing a foot above the candle itself. "Who's doing that?" he asked, looking back at Cassie.

Her eyes were wide and her face was drawn, "I think you are" she choked out, watching as his eyes flared gold again and the flames danced higher, threatening to catch on the curtains in the room, "Well stop it!" she instructed, panicked, "You're going to catch something on fire."

"It's not as if I can control it!" the prince huffed, the same panic in his eyes. Her heart swelled at his obvious distress. She stepped slowly towards him, holding up her hands, palms up, as if to take his. He flinched back but she held his gaze. Again she stepped forward and this time, he let her. She took his hands, being as gentle as possible, and grasped them, twining her fingers between his.

"Look at me, just focus on me," she said, her voice calm and her eyes locked on his. She kept her expression neutral, trying to keep the panic out of it. He stared at her, still clearly terrified. She stepped closer, into his body and disentangled her fingers from his to run her hands up his arms and over his shoulders, up his neck, one ending on his cheek, the other tangling in the short hair at the nape of his neck. His hands tentatively found their way to her waist, his fingers curling into her hips, squeezing hard. "Breathe," she instructed, her voice a near whisper as she pulled his head down to hers, pressing her forehead to his and never losing eye contact. They were suddenly plunged into a semi darkness and his hands clutched her so hard she was sure to have bruises in the morning. But it meant the candles were out and there was no more fire. "There," she pressed a swift kiss to his lips and leaned her head back to observe the room. It was dark, only the light of the late afternoon sun shone through the windows lighting the stone floor and walls.

"Why do I have magic?" he breathed, his fingers still digging into her hips. He was clearly terrified and she pressed herself to him, sliding her arms around his chest and pressing her face into his shoulder.

They stood still for a few minutes, just holding each other until Arthur's breathing had returned to normal. "I think the sorcerer did this to you," she finally answered his question, "But that means that if magic did this, magic can undo it," she leaned back and gave him a wide, confident smile.

Despite her grin, the prince scowled, "I don't want any more magic touching me," he growled.

Cassie smacked his shoulder, forgetting that he was volatile and could accidentally set the room on fire if provoked, "Stop being such a hard head about it. If we want to get these powers out of you before your father notices, asking Merlin is our best option. And when I bring him down here, you are going to apologize," she chastised. She could see the muscle tick in Arthurs jaw from how hard he was clenching his teeth but he nodded once. "Stay here, I'll be right back with Merlin, and don't let yourself get upset. In fact, just sit down and meditate, count your breaths or something," she instructed, going on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek before slipping out of his arms and out the door.

Only when she was outside and alone did she allow herself to panic. Her panic multiplied exponentially when she nearly ran into Uther coming around the corner. The king nodded his head at her and continued towards Arthur's rooms.

"Your highness!" she called out, hurrying back to him the best she could in her skirt, "Prince Arthur is feeling unwell, nausea and a headache, I'm fetching Gaius now, but I do not think he wants to be disturbed," her voice was louder than necessary, hoping that the prince in question would hear through the door.

But the king wasn't having it, "I am aware of the events of this afternoon and I have come to make sure that my son is alright after being attacked by a sorcerer," he snapped.

"Of course your highness," she bowed her head, "The prince is in bed, resting, and I am sure he would be happy for the company," her voice was still too loud and the king looked at her in disdain and confusion.

"Why are you speaking at such a high volume?" he asked.

Casting about for an appropriate response, she said the first thing that came to her head, "The sorcerers attack was rather loud my lord, it must have temporarily damaged my hearing," she lied. It was more of a Merlin excuse than one of her own usually better crafted ones, but half her brain was dedicated to figuring out how to cure Arthur of his sudden magic.

"Then go fetch Gaius, he may be able to help your hearing as well as Arthur," the king shouted back. She curtseyed and scurried down the hall, rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Arthur has been cursed with magic," she announced, throwing open the door to Merlin's bedroom, Gaius trailing behind her, confused at her abrupt entrance. The dark haired boy sat up from his bed where it was clear he had been fighting tears. His hair was rumpled and his clothes wrinkled, but at her words his eyes went wide. "We were fighting and his eyes went gold like yours do and the candles in the candelabras flared up, the flames were a foot tall, he's terrified and angry and of course now Uther's with him, so its even worse," she was speaking so quickly she wasn't sure he could understand her, but the warlock jumped up and pulled his jacket back on.

"I'm going to figure out how to fix this," he informed her, running past her and out the door with no explanation.

She looked at Gaius, "Do you have any idea where he's going?" she asked, hands on her hips and her weight set in her right one.

"Not the slightest," the old man answered, "But for the time being, we shall go attend to his highness," he picked up a few of his instruments and began to walk towards the door, "Are you coming?" he asked and Cassie hurried along behind him.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: And there she is! And a little drama too. This was supposed to be one chapter but I got carried away.**


	3. Chapter 3: Backwards

**A/N: So just a reminder to everyone, I had not seen the ending of the series when I wrote this chapter. But I had a vague idea of how it ended which shaped the plot of this story. This chapter is really important towards that, so it may not make a lot of sense now, or might seem like cheap storytelling, but I have a really long plan and it all works, I promise! So, enjoy!**

 **XXX**

Merlin hurtled down the stairs to the dungeons, his boots clanging on the stone. In any other circumstance he would have tried to research on his own, go through the books, attempt the spells he already knew. But this situation was too delicate, too dangerous. He needed the immediate answer, so he would go ask for advice from a source he had neglected for far too long.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me young warlock," the great dragon fixed him with a glare that would normally make him want to run. "I assume you have come for advice?"

"Arthur has been cursed with magic. His eyes are glowing and he is lighting fires with his mind," the boy shouted, to the apparent amusement of the dragon in front of him.

It shook it's massive head, chuckling, "I see you have been rendered obsolete," it joked. But the dark haired manwasn't in the mood.

"Tell me how to fix it!" he demanded. Arthur already hated magic enough, especially Merlin's magic, which made fulfilling his destiny of protecting the prince with magic much more difficult. He found himself wishing more and more that his friend had never found out his secret.

The dragon sighed, the force of the breath blowing Merlin's hair back. "You must bring him to me. Only a dragon can remove magic once it has been cursed," it explained.

"You can remove magic?" the boy asked, honestly surprised at this information.

"I can do a great many things young warlock," came the dragon's cryptic answer.

Suddenly an idea hit the boy, "Can you remove memories?" he asked, staring up at the dragon, his blue eyes set.

Narrowing its eyes, the dragon leaned its massive head down, "That is a dangerous request," it stated, "What memories of young Arthur's do you wish to remove?"

"His memories of my magic," Merlin admitted, "He isn't ready to know," his eyes fell and the dragon could see his stress as clearly as if it were colored in the air.

"The prince is not yet ready to know his destiny, or yours. I will help you take his memories. But understand the consequences of this action. Arthur's attitude towards magic will return to what it was prior to his knowledge of your powers," it insisted.

The boy sighed, "He's already done that. If anything, he hates magic even more now that he knows I have it," he exclaimed.

Dipping its head, the dragon agreed and reminded him of his promise, "If I do this for you, young warlock, you must finally honor your promise to me," it demanded.

Merlin knew that he would have to release the dragon eventually, and with Arthur's ignorance of magic, the servant might finally be able to release it. But he feared the actions of the creature upon its release. However, it was a promise, and he was asking a great deal from it.

"Fine," he agreed, then before the dragon could do or ask for anything else, he bolted back up the stairs, already formulating a plan to bring Arthur down to the dragon.

 **XXX**

"My lord," Cassie curtseyed to the king as she entered Arthur's chambers to see the prince in question lying in bed, looking absolutely miserable. Though when his father's attention shifted to Gaius, he shot her a wink and she went to his side with a grateful smile.

She took one of his hands in hers and he laced their fingers together without thinking. The two had become so comfortable with each other that they moved in tandem, always in synch. It was something they had failed to notice but the rest of the palace hadn't. The staff found them endearing, happy for the two, though often confused as to why they had not yet married. Even the King seemed to at least appreciate that they made each other happy, even if he did not approve of their relationship.

Indeed he doubted her, and found it suspicious how long she had stayed in Camelot without any apparent motive. It seemed she had no desire to secure her role as future queen of Camelot, nor had she ever asked for an alliance or troops to help her small island nation against invaders. In fact she never spoke of the war her home was facing and he was growing suspicious. Since her return almost a year ago, she had never mentioned going back to her home. He found the whole matter strange and suspicious, but his son didn't seem to care.

He stared up at the princess, his eyes full of adoration, his fingers tangled between hers. And the look on her face was similarly smitten. Though he doubted her motives, he could not deny that she loved his son. But love had little to do with anything when royalty was concerned.

Cassie sat on the bed with him as Gaius checked his vitals and his temperature once again, mostly for show for the King.

"He has a fever my lord," the physician informed the king, "he needs rest and a tonic that will help bring the fever down, it would be best if we left him to rest," he ushered the two royals out of the room, Cassie dropping a swift kiss to her prince's head on her way.

The king walked off in another direction, and Cassie chased Gaius, her soft slippers making little noise on the stone floors. Her usual combat boots were being re-soled as she had worn a hole in the bottom and only allowed them to be taken from her at Arthur's insistence once he had noticed the hole.

"What's the plan?" she asked the physician in a whisper when she caught up with him.

He shrugged, a half movement of his old shoulders, "That is up to Merlin. Hopefully he has found some way to remove Arthur's magic," the old man sounded worried but gave her a tight smile.

She nodded, "Well then I'll be back with Arthur, I think he needs an anchor at this point," she turned back and snuck quietly around the corner towards Arthur's rooms. Guards had not yet been positioned outside, despite the fact that they were already deep into the afternoon, nearing evening. All of the nonsense of the day caught up with her as she opened the door and slid around it, closing it softly behind her.

Arthur lay in bed, staring at the canopy above it, eyes dark and brooding. He looked furious, and she supposed he had a right to be. He heard her come in, she could tell, but didn't acknowledge her until she was at the edge of the bed, climbing on awkwardly in her long skirts and laying next to him atop the covers, her head on his shoulder and her palm over his heart. He said nothing, but shifted his arm beneath her to wrap around her waist, holding her to him, his fingers warm and drawing circles on her hip.

"We have a plan, I think," she whispered after a few moments of silence. The amused noise he made vibrated in his chest. "Merlin and Gaius are working on something, I promise we'll fix this."

He tensed at his servant's name, but she felt his head nod against hers, "I trust them," he lied, but she wasn't about to call him on it. So they just lay there, Cassie beginning to hum a song she was working on, still writing music despite the fact that no one would ever really hear it. Since her return, she had performed less, a combination of falling out of Uther's favor and trying to put her old life behind her. She missed performing, but she was happy in her new life. The life of a maybe-one-day-queen if she could convince Arthur to ask again. She had friends who she considered family, and a purpose in being there, if only to help manage the small scale disasters that seemed to hit Camelot every other week.

Certainly, she missed her family, her mom and dad and Ryan and his family. She missed her band and their manager Nate, despite the fact that he was a pushy bastard, she even missed Vince, their guitar tech who spent most of his time pinning her with flirty smirks and pickup lines that were so awful they made her laugh. But she wouldn't give it up. She had a purpose in this time that was so much bigger than her purpose in her old life. She was finally living a life she thought would make her brother truly proud, not just happy for her. And having the man she loved with her every day and curled next to her every night didn't hurt either.

She was just beginning to feel her eyes grow heavy when the door was flung open and she sat up straight. Merlin barged in, followed closely by Gaius. Arthur sat up next to her and she felt his chest bump into her shoulder.

"Arthur, you must drink this," Gaius insisted, making his way to the bed and holding out a vial of blue liquid. How the man got things to be such colors a century before the invention of chemical food coloring was a mystery, but she watched as the prince took the bottle and squinted at it suspiciously.

"What does it do?" he asked, the same suspicion in his voice.

"It should cure you. It will filter the magic out of your body, my lord," Gaius told him, pressing his lips together in a movement that indicated he wasn't being entirely honest. But something told her to keep her mouth shut so she did, watching as the prince took the vial, uncorked the top and drank deeply from it. He immediately coughed and made a face.

"That is disgusting," he moved his tongue as if to get rid of the taste out of his mouth and a tiny giggle escaped the woman beside him. He narrowed his eyes at her and nudged her with his shoulder, but a corner of his mouth turned up. Then without warning, he dropped back to the bed, unconscious.

"What the hell?" Cassie exclaimed, reaching over to check his pulse. He was alive at least. "What did you do?" she demanded.

Merlin and Gaius approached and Gaius squinted down at the man, Merlin beginning to heave one of the prince's arms over his scrawny shoulders. "We knocked him out. The great dragon has to take away his magic, but he can't know about it," he explained.

The woman groaned and scooted out of the bed, taking Arthur's other arm and helping Merlin lug him across the room. Neither of the two were very large people and the prince was heavy. The servant muttered an incantation, and suddenly their cargo was lighter between them.

Cassie laughed, "Thanks for that," she muttered as Gaius led the way out of the room.

"I must return to my rooms," the physician told them, "good luck," he smiled.

The other two nodded, "Thank you," Cassie called after him, before allowing Merlin to turn her towards the dungeons. They hurried along the castle corridors, ducking into crevices and hiding behind corners each time a guard passed them, or a member of the court walked by. It took them almost a half hour to make it down to the dungeons. There, the guards sat, chatting over a small fire, sharpening their swords. With a frown, Merlin cast his eyes around for inspiration, the princess' trained on his movements.

"Just make them fall asleep!" she hissed. The warlock spared her a glare before speaking another incantation, watching as the guards fell forward, unconscious and snoring lightly.

Merlin and Cassie hurried the prince's unconscious body past them and gently maneuvered him down the stairs.

It had been a long time since Cassie had been down to the deepest part of the dungeons where the great dragon was held prisoner. She had not been there since she first requested the creature's help to return home, long ago. She knew that it's relationship with Merlin had deteriorated, and had no desire to see the dragon again. But if it was the only option to save Arthur, then she would bear it.

When they reached the landing, that was little more than an outcropping of rock in the massive cavern that housed the dragon prisoner. The dragon in question sat perched on a collection of boulders, looking down at them with large, gold eyes.

"So young princess, you are a part of the warlock's plan," it was more of a statement than a question and the girl glared up at him, eyes narrowed before moving them to Merlin.

"What plan?" she asked slowly, "What aren't you telling me?"

The boy had the decency to look chagrined, "Well, the dragon is going to take Arthur's magic, and his memories of having magic," he began, but Cassie cut him off.

"Why would you take his memories? Especially without asking him," she demanded. She understood that it was probably for the best, but that if Arthur knew, he would disagree.

The dragon cleared its throat, an odd sound to be sure, but it seemed to prompt Merlin to sigh, "He is so upset by magic, it could only be best for him to forget he had it altogether. And to forget I have it," his words came out in a rush.

"Excuse me, what?" the princess demanded, clutching her other arm around her prince as well, pulling him away from Merlin's grasp and sagging a bit under his weight.

Suddenly Merlin looked about a hundred years old, his exhaustion and frustration clear on his face. "Arthur wasn't ready to know my secret, and now he can't trust me. I need him to trust me so we can both fulfill our destinies. If I can't use magic around him, I can't keep him safe," he pleaded.

Cassie was torn. She wanted to protect Arthur too. She just didn't know what the best way to do it was. She knew Arthur would be furious that they took his memories, that he wouldn't be okay with it. But at the same time, she knew it was best for him. Best for him to forget, so he could revive his relationship with Merlin, so he could fulfill his destiny. A destiny she was supposed to be part of.

She groaned, "Just do it," she lowered Arthur to the ground, pillowing his head on her lap and looking up at the dragon, giving it permission with her eyes. She heard Merlin's sigh of relief next to her, but didn't take her eyes off the dragon and the prince.

It began to chant a spell, its eyes glowing more gold than before, and suddenly the spiral of gold that had entered Arthur's chest that afternoon began to worm its way out of his body, towards the dragon.

The blond man shuddered in her lap, his entire body shaking with the force of the removal of the magic. The magic and his memories. Cassie clenched her teeth, her anger focused inwards, mixing with her concern for the prince into a very dangerous feeling that had her nails digging into the palms of her hands so hard she could feel the hot trickle of blood running down her fingers. The stream of swirling gold stopped and the dragon's chant faded into silence.

"It is done" was all the creature said before it swept off, up into the deep recesses of the cavern, leaving her and Merlin to bring the prince back up to his room.

The next morning Cassie woke to a kiss pressed to her forehead, and opened her eyes to see smiling blue ones just in front of hers. They had become her favorite color blue, like the color of the sky above the ocean. She felt her mouth begin to stretch into a smile, before she remembered the events of the day before.

But the prince looked none the wiser, leaning down to kiss her again before sitting up and bounding out of bed, "I feel fantastic," he said, sounding surprised, "Considering I had a fever yesterday. Whatever Gaius gave me must have been brilliant. Remind me to thank him," he said, wandering towards the jug of water that sat on a side table. He poured a glass for both himself and her and she took the time to push the thoughts of his memory loss away and instead admire his shirtless form, his pale skin shining in the early morning sun and the muscles in his shoulders moving beneath it as he poured.

He turned and noticed her staring and raised his eyebrows, "See something you like?" he asked.

She grinned in return, "Come back over here and I'll show you what I like," she teased, her heart tweaking at her nonchalance. She's worried about him, and desperately wanted to tell him what happened, but knew she couldn't. So she simply added it to the list of things she'd been keeping from him and returned his look of desire with her own.

It is then that Merlin barges through the door, a tray full of breakfast in his hands, and a sudden look of horror on his face as Cassie yanked up the blankets to cover the skin revealed by her nightgown.

"Merlin!" the prince shouted in annoyance. And suddenly everything had returned to the way it should be. She laughed as Arthur berated Merlin, reminding him the value of knocking and watching as the servant's cheeks became redder and redder as he listened to the man's tirade.

So instead of simply letting them yell, she pushed back the blankets, got up, took her water from the prince's waiting hand and drank it down before flouncing out of the room past the speechless men who still occupied it.

She regretted the lies that she now must pile on, but maybe Merlin was right, maybe it was for the best. As she re-entered her room, surprising Gwen who had arrived with her own breakfast, she put it out of her head. This was her life now and the lies that kept her past were no longer important.

 **XXX**


	4. Chapter 4: Dearly Departed

**A/N: So remember Cassie's best friend from the future, Ryan? Well he's back. Enjoy**

 **XXX**

Anger was an emotion Ryan Reyes had become intimately familiar with in the last year. If he was being honest, the anger had simmered just beneath the surface for a very long time, since his best friend had swerved his car into a tree three years ago. He was angry with his family, with Cassie and Alex's betrayals, with his ex, a girl he thought he loved until he found out she'd been sleeping with someone else while he was on tour. He was angry with the band, who had become a mess since they lost their singer, and most of all he was angry with himself for becoming a shell of the person he was supposed to be.

He took a long drag on the cigarette that hung out of his mouth, thinking how much Cassie would hate it if she'd known he'd picked up smoking again. He'd quit around the time they started work on their last album. Around when her depression had started. And it had to have been depression, there was no other explanation. She had finished their last tour together and broken down. She wrote constantly, sad songs that spoke of heartbreak she hadn't experienced, she'd stopped eating, losing weight rapidly, not sleeping, and when she did screaming and talking to Alex in the midst of her fitful dreams. It was funny that he'd become exactly the same.

She had been better when they worked on their last album together, making more of an effort and trying to be happy. Then she'd gone to that stupid psychic, and everything had gone to shit. She never knew he'd followed her, watched her walk in from his car parked across the street, watched her walk out, pale and shaking.

He had gone in after he watched her car pull away and found an empty shop, no trace of the psychic that the sign advertised. A week later he read a story in the paper about a customer entering to find the owner of the shop dead in front of her crystal ball. He'd kept the story from Cassie, but she seemed better off. Like she finally understood the reasons behind her depression. She had steadily improved, but one day, a few weeks before they'd planned to start another tour, he woke to her mother barging into his room in the house he'd grown up in screaming for her last living child. She hadn't been there.

The police had been called and the search had begun. Her favorite acoustic guitar was gone, as was her cell phone, her car and its keys and a few other items from her room, including a photo of the entire family prior to Alex's death. The police found her car in the parking lot of the cemetery where her brother was buried, but no further sign of her. There wasn't much the police could do, especially since she was an adult and there was no evidence of foul play. But after a few days and no sign of her, they issued an APB, kept an eye out for her on security cameras at bus and train stations and even the airports. Her cell phone records were pulled, revealing nothing out of the ordinary. Apparently it was unlikely her disappearance had anything to do with her minor fame, but it was a theory Ryan had chased for a long time, having met some of the crazies who declared themselves in love with her and read some of the comments posted about her on Reddit and those other, less savory sights. He had done as much work for the police as he After two months of searching, they had nothing and her case was moved to the back burner. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

Everyone had started to move on. Even her parents, focusing on their careers, adopting a puppy, and looking into adopting kids. His family had similarly moved on. They all still missed her, but her absence was no longer the single focus of their lives. It was fairest that he let them. But Ryan was unable to move on. He had to know what happened to her, why she had gone or who had taken her and if she would ever come back.

The band had rallied together and put out another album. Ben sang, with his pretty boy looks and talented vocal cords they did well. Not as well as they had with Cassie's writing talent and contagious energy, but it was something. They'd backed out of the tour right after her disappearance. It was the only option. But their music since they'd decided to move on had suffered. Cassie had been their real talent, their source of energy. Their music had experienced a brief spike in sales just after her disappearance, the sensationalists interested in the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the singer. But it hadn't lasted. The same way the band hadn't. Not really. They were still together, and had put out the album, with plans to tour on it, opening for another band. But none of their hearts were in it. Especially not Ryan.

He had become increasingly irritable and moody since the new album came out. Tour started soon, but he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Ben or Jon or even Tom, who was almost impossible to anger. Though none of them could blame him for his black moods. They had all felt Cassie's disappearance as well. It was something that haunted all of them. It didn't mean that they would accept Ryan's irritability. They were avoiding him before tour started when they would be stuck on a small bus together for a month and a half.

Ryan was fine with it. He didn't want to be around them either. He wanted to drink and smoke and brood over the loss of his best friend. And occasionally hit things. Or more than occasionally.

Taking another drag from his cigarette he flicked the thing into the Hudson, glaring after it as the small ember glowed in an arc until it hit the water. He knew Cassie would hate it that he'd picked up the habit again, close to half a pack a day at this point, but she deserved it. She was the one who'd left after all.

It was the only conclusion he'd been able to come to. The one the police had agreed on as well. That she left, taking pieces of everyone's hearts with her. It was selfish and unfair of her and he wanted to punish her in any way he could, even if she would never know.

Unbidden, one of the songs she wrote for the last album popped into his head and he began to hum it as he wandered through riverside park. He was far from home, but he wasn't nearly ready to return and see the sympathetic faces of his parents. It had become his ritual to wander the streets of the city at night, letting the incessant lights and speed of New York lull him into complacency over Cassie and her leaving them.

He found himself climbing over the railing that separated the sidewalk from the rocky shoal that led down to the filthy river, balancing on rocks in his worn boots and staring up at the black sky. He was sure there were stars somewhere out there, obscured by the pollution hovering in the air around the city and the lights that never went out. Absently, he wondered if Cassie could see the stars where she was. His attention focused on the sky, he failed to notice the way the rocks were falling away from the ground beneath his feet until it was too late and he tumbled into blackness.

Suddenly he was falling through trees in the mid afternoon sunshine. Branches snapped beneath him, fall leaves crunching as they did until he slammed into something hard that let out a cry of pain and annoyance before his tumbled to the ground, more or less on top of whatever, well whoever he had hit.

Ryan's eyes fluttered open, his view only adding to his confusion. All he could see was trees and red-gold hair. There weren't this many trees in Riverside Park. And it had been night a few seconds ago, now he could see late afternoon sun struggling through dense clouds. The hair in front of his face moved and the face of a very angry woman swam into his vision.

"What in gods name is wrong with you?" she shouted, and he very suddenly found a knife to his neck, "Who are you and who sent you?" she demanded.

He found himself speechless, staring at the actually very pretty woman with wide blue eyes and a delicate nose. She was glaring at him, the anger in her eyes belied by fear. Terror actually.

Finding his voice was difficult, "I-I'm sorry, I think I fell, I don't know you, no one sent me," he babbled, trying to figure out how stumbling over the Hudson at night landed him in the middle of the woods during the day with a woman with an accent standing over him with a knife. Maybe he'd hit his head when he fell, not that he remembers falling, but that might be because he hit his head. Maybe he'd been unconscious and someone had moved him.

"Who are you?" the woman repeated, looking only marginally less furious.

"My name is Ryan Reyes," he told her, "I'm a musician, I'm not here to hurt you, I don't even know where I am," his eyes flitted around, catching sight of a young child, maybe five or six years old, staring at him with the same blue eyes the woman in front of him had.

"You're in the Breindin Forest, it's on the Eastern edge of Moria, bordering on Camelot," the woman told him, releasing her pressure on his neck with her knife.

Seeing as Ryan recognized only one of those names, and it wasn't a real place, he stared at her in disbelief, sure he must have misheard her, "I'm sorry, did you say Camelot?" he asked, skepticism coloring his tone.

"Yes," her eyes narrowed again, suspicion in them.

Ryan looked around, taking in his surroundings and the woman and little girl. The woods were vast, empty, no sign of people or buildings, or even civilization. The woman was wearing a dress made of coarse spun wool and strangely crafted boots like something out of a renaissance fair. The small girl with the curly blonde hair and the big blue eyes who was staring at him in blatant curiosity, was dressed the same. He was clearly not in New York anymore, probably not even the US, judging by the accents. So as best he saw it, he had two options. One was be honest and hope he wasn't too far from home. The other was to just go with it and be as vague as possible. The woman was staring at him, clearly expecting an answer.

"Ah, just that I am headed to Camelot, I'm glad it's close by." His answer seemed to satisfy the woman, who removed her knife from his throat.

"We as well," she informed him, standing up and dusting herself off, dead, dry leaves falling from her dress.

"Want some company?" Ryan asked, unsure why.

Ignoring his question, the woman fixed him with a glare, "How did you fall on me anyway?" she asked.

Scrambling for an answer, he glanced up at the tops of the trees, yards and yards above him, "I, uh, was in a tree," he told her, earning himself a confused look, "Trying to figure out which was I was going, if I could see anything, you know…?" he trailed off.

His only answer was the small child's giggle, which she quickly hid behind a hand, she looked up at him, her eyes shy and her small mouth pulled into a smile behind her fingers. He grinned back.

"Yes," the woman answered, gathering up the bag she must have dropped when he'd slammed into her. She gave pause as she looked over his clothes, so different from hers, but nodded as he stared up at her.

"Yes, what?" Ryan asked, still lying on the ground in the exact position he had fallen in when he'd dropped, apparently, out of the sky.

"Yes, you may accompany us. We could use the protection of having a man with us and we are both going to Camelot. So yes, we would like some company," the woman gave him a wry smile and offered him a hand to help him up.

He took it and let her help him to his feet. "What're your names?" he asked, dusting off his jacket. It had been cold in New York and the worn leather jacket he took everywhere had kept him only a little warm, but would be fine in the mid fall that it apparently was in Camelot or wherever he was.

"I'm Leanne," the little girl dropped into a tiny adorable curtsey. She reminded him of Ximena, his youngest sister who was probably a year or so older than this child, but just as sweet.

The woman pursed her lips at the child's outburst, but grudgingly game her name, "Danielle," she looked him over again, staring at his clothes which were very different from hers, "We should be continuing, it will be sunset soon and I want to find an inn for the night," she took Leanne's hand and began walking, in what he assumed was the right direction. He hurried after her. He needed someone who knew where they were going and she was his best option.

Leanne began and kept up a steady stream of chatter that was actually rather informative as to where exactly, and, as he was starting to realize, _when_ exactly he was. She told him she was six years old and that she was learning how to be a librarian in the castle library, though usually women weren't allowed, but she hoped the king and queen would one day make an exception for her, though she supposed now that they were running away to Camelot, she would have to ask the king there. Her sister winced when the child mentioned running away, which Ryan filed away in his head somewhere to analyze later. Leanne continued, mentioning that the king of Camelot apparently did not have a wife, that his had died many years ago and that it was terribly sad.

He did his best to keep up with her, asking her questions and nodding and prompting her at all the right moments. After what was maybe an hour of walking she began to complain that her feet hurt and without stopping, her sister, as he had discovered Danielle was – though according to Leanne, they had different mummies- reached down and picked her up, settling the still babbling child on her hip and continuing her walk.

She was tired, he could tell, and carrying her sister was beginning to slow them down. They were still in the middle of dense woods on something that could be described as a path through the trees, but there was no civilization in sight.

"Leanne?" he asked, during one of the lulls in the child's monologue, "Would you like a piggyback ride?" he asked, "If that's okay with your sister?" his eyes slid to the red-head, who eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding to her sister's squeal of delight.

Ryan allowed the child to climb onto his back and the continued walking, Danielle clearly relieved at the weight lifted from her, though she would probably never say. The child was slight and weighed almost nothing compared to the heavy music equipment that he hauled on and off stage and on and off a tour bus far more frequently than he liked.

They walked further, finally coming to a fork in the path that led them out of the woods to a town. If the medieval looking grouping of buildings could be called a town. If Ryan had any remaining doubts about being in another time, the sight of the tavern situated right in the middle of the only road that seemed to go through the town, one that was essentially a dirt path, eliminated them. He was back in time. Apparently in King Arthur's Camelot. Great.

"We should pretend to be a family," Danielle said to him before they entered, "It will be easier to get a room," she added at his confused glance.

He nodded, trying to take in and process the world around him. What Doctor Hayes wouldn't do to be in his shoes at that moment. Cassie's father, and a history professor would have freaked out being in medieval England. That was if Ryan was indeed in medieval England, or anywhere at all. He was still trying to stand by his hit-in-the-head theory and that it was entirely possible he was dreaming or experiencing a concussion induced hallucination.

Either way, standing in the middle of a dirt road with a six year old on his back wasn't going to get him anywhere, so he slid the child down to the ground and took her hand to lead her through the tavern.

Danielle did all the talking, explaining that she and her husband and daughter needed a place to sleep for the night to the ugly man behind the bar whose wild hair was long and greasy and grey and whose teeth were mostly rotted away.

He was glad she spoke to the man. He would have had no idea what to say. She paid him with a set of silver bracelets. Not exactly fives and tens, but he thought it best to keep his opinion of her money to himself. Leanne was dozing against his shoulder as the greasy man limped up a narrow set of stairs along the back wall to an even narrower hallway with doors lining the walls. He used the heavy key in his hand to unlock one of them and swung open the door to reveal a small room that housed an even smaller bed, a single chair, and a small basin filled with questionable looking water. Ryan followed Danielle in, nodding to the man as he shut the door behind him.

The bed looked horribly uncomfortable. Less comfortable, in fact, than tour bus bunks. But he watched as Danielle fell back on it with a sigh. Clearly it was good enough for her.

"I'll let you and Leanne take the bed," he found himself saying, figuring it was only fair. The right thing to do, though it was practically a foreign concept to him. He lowered the half sleeping child to the bed alongside her sister who gave him a tired smile.

There was a tiny fireplace in the wall next to the chair and he lowered himself into the chair, kicking off his boots and shrugging out of his jacket. It would be uncomfortable to sleep sitting in the hard wooden chair, but he'd slept in stranger positions. The fire was the only light in the room, and he almost missed Danielle as she slid off the bed and came to sit on the floor next to him.

"I think if we are to be traveling together, we have to be honest with each other," she murmured, her small voice barely audible. He waited, letting her speak. It was obvious he was hiding something, as obvious as it was that he didn't belong in the world that he had found himself in. But he sensed his companion had something she was keeping secret as well. His suspicions were confirmed when she began to speak again, "We're running away, Leanne and I, from Moria," she admitted, "I was a servant in the castle, to the king's sister. I was distracted and knocked into the prince. He's a very volatile man, and very angry and very violent. He threatened me and threw me around," she grit her teeth and Ryan felt the familiar anger bubbling in his chest at what had happened to her. She continued, whispering so as not to wake her sister, "Ethan, my best friend came to protect me. But he was just a servant as well, and the prince killed him," her voice broke, "So I ran. I stole some jewelry, grabbed Leanne and we ran. We hope to go to Camelot to start over. I'm a good servant. I can get a job somewhere, at the palace or with a noble family..." she trailed off, staring into the fire.

Silence washed over them. The guilt and fear and sadness she felt was clear in her eyes as he watched the flames of the fire reflected in them. So he decided to take a chance on her and be honest. At least it would take her mind off her own pain. "I'm from the future," he announced in a very matter of fact whisper.

Danielle's head snapped up, her eyes widening as they looked at him, suspicion in her expression.

"I live in a city called New York, in the 21st century where I play drums in a band that tours all over the country, playing music for people every night. We have lights that don't need fire, and drive cars that don't need a horse to pull them," he explained, watching her blue eyes get wider with each word.

"So if you're from the future, which I don't think is true, then how did you get here?" she asked. He was impressed at her calm assessment of the potentially crazy man she had just agreed to share a room with.

"I don't know, I was walking along the Hudson river, and went over the gate to try to climb down, or I don't know, do something, and I fell. It was night where I was and it was day when I crashed into you," he told her.

"So you're not really going to Camelot?" she asked. She picked up quick.

He considered for a moment. Camelot was at least a familiar name, and if he remembered the legends correctly, the King was advised by a wizard Merlin, a man who might be able to get him home. It sounded like the best option he had. Better than trying to make his way through whatever place she was running from. "Well I am now. I'm hoping someone there can help me get home," he smiled at her.

The redhead considered him for a moment, eyes narrowed and head cocked to the side in a look that reminded him so much of Cassie that his ribs hurt. Finally she spoke, "Fine. You should come with us. We can go to the king together to ask for help, it's easier to secure one audience than two," her smile was small and tentative, but she was smiling nonetheless.

"Thank you" was his only answer, her response, a nod, and they sat in silence staring at the fire, taming their individual demons well into the night.

The next morning Ryan was sore and tired, but Leanne and Danielle seemed better rested than they had the day before. They shared their food with him and were on their way, heading east towards Camelot. He got the feeling they were avoiding the main roads, but didn't question. He knew they were more or less on the run, something that was probably easier without the FBI's most wanted list and the ability to flash mug shots across billboards on the highway.

It was another few hours of walking before Danielle stopped him at the top of a hill and pointed at a tiny, gray-white blob on a high hill in the distance. "That's Camelot, well the castle at least," she informed him. If he squinted, it was a vaguely castle shaped blob.

"How long till we get there?" he asked.

"Another three days, probably," she said and began walking again. Ryan almost groaned, he missed the days of cars. But it was his only option to get back home at the moment, so he followed her down the hill, headed for Camelot.

Little did he know he was headed for a lot more than just a castle.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: This story is really coming along, and I'm pretty excited about how its going. I have ideas lined up for two more in this series, and I'm really excited about them. I would love a review to know how people are liking the story, or what I can improve on. Thanks guys!**


	5. Chapter 5: Best Laid Plans

**A/N: This chapter I'll be bringing in a series favorite so I hope you enjoy it! He's a lot of fun so get excited :)**

 **XXX**

"Why can't I come with you?" Cassie asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.

Arthur crossed his room to the bed she stood in front of while they argued about why she couldn't go with him to hunt magical creatures terrorizing the woods, "You can't come because it will be dangerous. And besides, aren't you in charge of planning Morgana's birthday celebrations?" he asked, a tiny smile pulling at one corner of his mouth.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "In charge is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?" she grumbled, "Morgana is doing all the planning and this entire thing was supposed to be a surprise."

Arthur let out a chuckle at that, "But you have to be there for appearances. And to keep poor Gwen from murdering her."

His companion groaned, "Please can I come kill giant magic creatures with you?" she whined.

He laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I promise to come help the moment I return," he told her and she sighed loudly, before leaning up to kiss him goodbye.

"Liar," she teased, knowing full well he would avoid the king's ward as much as physically possible when he returned, in fear of her obsessive planning of every minute detail of her birthday celebrations.

"I love you," he called after her as she exited the room.

"Love you too!" she shouted back, making her way along the corridors and up the stairs. There was a lot to do before the party, Arthur had been right. And there was still more to do because of Morgana hijacking the planning and insisting that it must be the greatest celebration Camelot had ever seen. Which was apparently what she said every year. Which was why this year was supposed to be a surprise.

It was Uther's fault really. The man was incapable of keeping secrets from the woman he considered his own child. So when she had asked if the preparations for her birthday celebration had yet begun, instead of telling her that it was already planned, or they wouldn't be having one, he told her she didn't need to worry about it. Which of course to the lady, meant she did. So she took over planning immediately.

Each year Morgana insisted her birthday be a cause to honor the people of the kingdom. She threw lavish festivities for all of the lower town and invited all citizens of Camelot far and wide to the massive feast in honor of her birth. She reasoned that it was the entire kingdom of Camelot that had given her a home in the castle when her father had died, and so her birthday was to celebrate them. It was very sweet of her, but it meant that the celebration was absolutely massive. There was a carnival during the day, spectacle after spectacle, those for the children and those for adults. There was a short tournament during the day, a simple one amidst the nights of Camelot to entertain those who appreciated tournaments. At night there was a banquet that spanned all of the halls of the castle and spilled into the courtyard. There was music and dancing and all sorts of revelry, and of course enough food and drink for everyone to have their fill and take home wrapped in napkins for the next day. Any leftovers were given to the servants who earned that and a day off after all their hard work.

She was meeting Morgana in her rooms before the two ventured down to the kitchens to discuss the food. She was so busy that she had not yet gotten a gift for the woman who considered one of her best friends. The two had become closer since Cassie's reappearance, despite the fact that Morgana had grown distant from everyone else, withdrawn and nervous. She was hiding something and despite Cassie's constant questions, the other woman would not reveal it.

Figuring Morgana would tell her when she was ready, the fake princess had let it alone, instead insisting on spending more time with her, taking her out on horse rides, despite Cassie's hatred of horses. It had certainly brought the two closer, but done nothing to bring down Morgana's walls.

Cassie knocked when she arrived at the other woman's chambers, startled when the door swung open almost immediately to reveal an absolutely exhausted but relieved Gwen.

"Cassie is here my lady," she called over her shoulder, "I'm going to go finish your gowns for the banquet," she rushed out past the princess.

"Go take a nap!" the smaller woman called after her, a sympathetic smile on her face as her curly haired friend hurried off down the hallway. "So what's on the agenda for today?" Cassie asked, entering and closing the door behind her.

Morgana stood by the window, staring out it absently, twisting a quill in her hand. Numerous sheets of paper rested on her vanity that were most likely lists of things they would need and plans for the celebrations. She was watching the prince and his servant ride away, and Cassie watched with her, silent.

As soon as she couldn't see the men through the window any longer she turned to Morgana, "Alright, so what do we have to do to get ready?" she asked, her question suddenly reanimating the woman.

"Well, we have to make sure the food will all be prepared, and there is enough ale and wine. We also have to ensure that the tables and benches set up in each of the rooms and the courtyard are ready as well as assign the musicians to each space," she listed off the tasks and checks and Cassie tried not to roll her eyes at how complex it was.

"Okay then, lets head down to the kitchens, I'll handle the booze and you can handle the food. I'll yell at musicians and you can make sure tables and chairs get placed where they're supposed to be!" she neatly divided the responsibilities, playing to each woman's strengths.

The taller woman nodded, seeming to agree, but then tilted her head in confusion, "Booze?" she asked, her mouth twisting as she pronounced the unfamiliar word.

The princess made a sheepish face, "Alcohol, I mean, wine and ale. Just a phrase we use in Puerto Rico," she smiled at the mention of her fake country of origin.

"Booze," the lady repeated, "I like it, and your plan, let us go to the kitchens," she offered her arm like a knight would to escort a lady. Her friend giggled and took it and the two marched down to the kitchens.

"Two hundred barrels of wine?" Cassie exclaimed, looking at the list in her hand. The kitchen hand nodded, looking almost as upset about the number as she was. "At this point just add two extra for me. I'll need about two barrels of wine to myself if I'm going to make it through this," she grumbled.

The poor man in front of her looked as if he didn't know whether to laugh or be appalled. He settled for an expression somewhere in between that made him look as if he had swallowed a hornet.

"And three hundred barrels of ale? Does she plan to give all of Camelot alcohol poisoning?" the next item on the list didn't make her feel any better. At least it would be a party to remember, or not remember, depending on how much of the ale she drank.

Despite her apprehension about the sheer volume of booze, Cassie was looking forward to the event. Barring Arthur's very brief encounter with having magic, things around Camelot had been quiet lately. But she hoped that the celebration would liven life up a bit, give her a chance to drink and dance and enjoy herself with her new family.

So she looked over all five hundred barrels and continued on her task of preparing Camelot for quite the party, hoping that Arthur and Merlin were having a good time.

 **XXX**

Arthur and Merlin were not, in fact, having a good time. Well at least Merlin wasn't. Arthur was pretending that hunting what was, apparently, just a large beaver, was better than it sounded.

The reports had been false, but the prince wasn't one to waste a good hunting trip. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite prepared for a regular hunting trip, which made him all the grumpier when he missed the pheasants he kept shooting at.

His servant was similarly grumpy, but was less verbal about it. He had never liked hunting, and hunting unprepared was even less fun. But the prince was determined. So they spent the morning hunting and then Arthur had the bright idea to go to a tavern. And since the prince couldn't help himself when people mistreated his subjects – a quality that on any other occasion, Merlin appreciated- just had to get them into a massive bar fight. A fight they thankfully had a few allies in. The bar tender for one, a large woman with pink cheeks and curly hair who thought Merlin was handsome. For another, a rowdy drunk who explained his name was Gwaine in between all the smashing of chairs and people. He liked Gwaine, a man who fought with practiced ease, despite how much meade it was clear he had consumed. It was why once the man took a knife to the leg to save Arthur's life, he insisted on bringing their new friend back to Gaius. To his surprise, Arthur adamantly agreed. It seemed Merlin was the only one he didn't thank for saving his life.

Merlin rode with Gwaine on the back of his horse, the unconscious man bouncing in a way that looked distinctly uncomfortable, but seeing as he was unconscious, the servant assumed it couldn't hurt. They rose back into Camelot considerably earlier than they were expected and Arthur sent a guard for Gaius. The two maneuvered Gwaine off the horse and half dragged him, half carried him up to Gaius' rooms. The physician helped them slide him onto the table, and used a small blade to cut open Gwaine's trousers to better see the wound.

"It is very close to an artery, he's lucky," Gaius told them, beginning to treat the wound.

"Keep me updated on his condition, he's to be given anything he needs" Arthur commanded before turning to leave the room. Probably to go find Cassie, or hide from Morgana, or both.

"Yes, sire" the old man mumbled, "Merlin, hand me the bundle of yarrow plant," he asked, before turning back to his patient. The servant brought the requested item and hovered, watching Gaius work. "Fetch me hot water, towels and a needle and thread," the physician instructed, probing gently at the wound. The blood looked to be clotting and the yarrow helping with inflammation.

"And honey?" the boy asked, causing his mentor to smile.

"You're learning," the old man smiled. Together they patched the man up, depositing him in Merlin's bed for the night. Merlin was happy to give up his bed for the man who had saved both their lives and fought on their side despite being outnumbered.

They took turns getting up in the night to check on the man, but Gwaine was fast asleep the entire time. He must have hit his head fairly hard when he fell, and his body was using the unconsciousness to heal itself. Or at least that was Gaius' assessment.

Merlin brought him breakfast in the morning. The good stuff. All the way up from the kitchens, blackberries and the softest bread he could find.

The man revealed his dislike of royalty and his odd demeanor, but Merlin found he liked him. He left his new friend to his breakfast and hurried off to wake Arthur, hoping that the good news of Gwaine's recovery would save him a lecture for his lateness.

 **XXX**

It wasn't that Cassie was running away from Morgana exactly, it was that… she was definitely running away from Morgana. But with good reason. The kings ward was trying to have her fitted for what she explained would be the most lavish dress the princess had ever worn. And it wasn't that she didn't appreciate the gesture, but Cassie didn't like dresses to begin with. Dresses with real rubies sewn into them were just too far. And sounded heavy and unpleasant.

So she hurried down the corridors, her recently returned combat boots clacking satisfyingly, if loudly, on the stone floors. She wasn't sure where she was going, but the castle was massive and she wasn't as familiar with it as she should have been after a year of sneaking around with her prince boyfriend. Spotting a tapestry she recognized, she darted to the right, heading up the stairs and down the hallway to Gaius' rooms. Hopefully the old physician would hide her, or she could take refuge under Merlin's bed.

When she burst through the doors, the physician was nowhere to be seen, so she rushed across the room, up the short set of stairs to Merlin's door, opened it and threw herself into the room, whirling to close it, and resting her forehead against the wood. She had seen a dark haired figure by the window out the corner of her eye when she flew in, and though she was surprised Merlin was home this time of day, she was glad. He could help hide her.

"Merlin, I'm using your room to hide from Morgana. She's an absolute terror at this point and if I make it to this celebration in two days I am going to singlehandedly consume all two hundred barrels of wine she's ordered for this-" Cassie cut off as she turned around to see a man who was _definitely_ not Merlin staring at her with an amused expression on his handsome face.

The fact that he was shirtless was the first thing she noticed, his abs the second, and then the rest of him all kind of hit her at once. He was very good looking, and had abs to rival Arthurs. He was slighter than the prince, but not by much. His hair was brown and wavy, and his eyes were a warm shade of brown, surrounded by laugh lines.

"Well I don't know about Merlin, but I definitely don't mind you hiding out in here," he gave her a flirtatious grin and made no move to put a shirt on, clearly aiming to fluster her, dressed as a proper lady as she was.

But Cassie was anything but a proper lady, so she grinned right back, "Either Merlin suddenly became really good looking or we haven't met," she extended her hand, "Princess Cassandra," she introduced herself.

His smile grew, though lost a tad of its sincerity and he took her hand, leaning over to press a kiss to it, "Gwaine, my lady, at your service," he straightened up.

Realization dawned on her face, as the door behind her swung open and Merlin entered, looking between the two. He smiled, "Good, Cassie, you've met Gwaine. He's the one I told you about who saved Arthur and I's lives."

The princess turned back to her new acquaintance, "Then I owe you thanks, I happen to be rather fond of Merlin here, and the prince," she added.

"Not too fond I hope," was his cheeky response.

She laughed and turned to Merlin, "I like him," she decided.

The blue eyed boy rolled his eyes, "I thought you would," he shook his head then frowned, "Why are you up here?" he asked.

Cassie grimaced, "I'm hiding from Morgana. I would have hidden in Arthurs room, but that's the first place she'd look," the fake princess admitted.

"And this is probably the second," he reminded her.

Her face fell, "Fuck, you're right, damn it. Any suggestions for good hiding spots?" she asked, ignoring the shocked expression on their new friend's face and the uncomfortable one on Merlins. No matter how long he had known her, he hadn't gotten used to her swearing. He knew she wasn't a real princess, but he couldn't help think of her as one and princesses weren't supposed to swear like that.

"Try the library, no one will look for you in there," he suggested.

She narrowed her eyes, "I will choose to interpret that as a comment on how boring Camelot's library is and not on my level of literacy," she turned a wide smile on the other man in the room, "It was lovely to meet you Gwaine, I hope to see you around Camelot, especially for the festivities around the Lady Morgana's birthday," she nodded her head to him and his confusion filled his eyes at her gesture of respect, but he returned it. "Bye Merlin, and if Morgana asks, I'm with Arthur. Maybe she'll make him get fitted for dresses instead of me," she joked and walked out of the room to the sound of surprised laughter.

She made it about as far as the stairs when Morgana's voice rang through the corridor, "Cassie! There you are, I've been looking all over for you!" the woman called and Cassie bit back a groan.

Turning, she beamed at her friend, seeing the woman trailed by Gwen who looked even more exhausted than the day before. "What do you need?" she asked forcing the smile to remain on her face.

"Gwen will be measuring you for your dress for the banquet," she informed the princess upon reaching her.

"I've finished it," the seamstress in question added, "I just need to do a last fitting to make sure it doesn't need any alterations." The bags under the shorter woman's eyes were deep and her face was drawn. They were all going to enjoy a few days of laying around doing nothing when all this was over. Cassie thought she would offer Gwen her room and her very comfortable bed for her days off after the celebrations. It wasn't like the princess would actually be sleeping in her own bed. She had another very comfortable one just downstairs that came with its own heater and cuddler. She was sure that all of Camelot would shut down for at least the day and was looking forward to spending it lounging in bed with her prince.

"Lead the way," she gestured for Gwen to show her to where the dress was being held. They zigzagged through the corridors, avoiding servants and foreign dignitaries alike. Lords and Ladies of Camelot had been arriving for days ahead of the celebration and the entire castle was strained. She and Gwen stopped at least three times to help some servant or another carry a basket of laundry or a tray of food. She ran into one poor kitchen hand who was stuck carrying the overstuffed luggage of some visitor and left Gwen entirely to help the boy haul it up the stairs and into its owners room.

The man who stood inside, picking at the sheets with narrowed eyes looked up, confusion crossing his face as the princess and the servant carried in his trunk. He was tall with blonde hair and a hawklike nose that was his dominating feature.

"Welcome to Camelot, I am the Princess Cassandra, please enjoy your stay. I regret to inform you that I have need of this particular kitchen boy for the next hour or so. He's the only one who can get the tomatoes just the way I like them for my lunch," she smiled and grabbed the boy by the sleeve before yanking him out of the room.

"Thank you my lady," the boy mumbled, his face bright red.

"You're more than welcome, go take a break, at least from carrying heavy things," she insisted and he scurried off.

"Cassie!" Gwen was exasperated upon finding the princess helping yet another servant with one of their duties. She appreciated it, but she needed to get this dress fit.

The other woman sighed, "Fine, fine, I'm coming." They finally made it to Cassie's room, so Gwen could fit her for the most stunning dress she had ever seen. And she hated dresses.

When the pins were all in place and Cassie was once again in her plain dress, she thanked Gwen with a tight hug and a warm smile before practically skipping out of the room. She made it maybe three feet before running into someone. Literally. The chest she slammed into was solid and male and she looked up to see the decidedly unamused face of the man she'd stolen the kitchen hand from earlier.

"My apologies Princess," he grit out between clenched teeth. His shoulders were hunched and his hands clenched into fists. He was far angrier than running into someone warranted.

"I'm terribly sorry, that was my fault, sir…?" she asked, trailing off in hopes of learning the grumpy knight's name. Her mood was too high to be brought down by grumpy guests, so she actually intended to apologize.

"Pelleas," he informed her, his jaw still tight.

"I'm very sorry Sir Pelleas, for running into you, I was not looking where I was going. Please accept my most sincere apologies. I will have a pitcher of Camelot's best wine sent to your rooms this evening," she smiled. She was really getting the hang of this whole diplomatic thing.

The man seemed to consider her for a moment, "I appreciate the gesture my lady," he nodded his head, slightly less tense than he had been the moment before.

She returned the nod and moved around him in the corridor, grinning again, her skirts swishing around her at each bounce in her step, but something was off about Sir Pelleas, and she was going to figure out what it was.

 **XXX**

The guards pinned him with skeptical looks as Merlin helped him through the gates, but said nothing. Gwaine was drunk, but that was nothing new.

"You know you could have just ordered ale from the kitchens if you wanted to get drunk," the servant complained.

He scoffed, "But that would have been so much less fun," he slurred as the smaller man pulled him up the stairs of the palace, the entire place still abuzz with activity for the celebrations the next day. A few servants wandering around spared them skeptical looks but most of them were too busy to pay any mind to the drunk stranger.

They were another few corridors and a set of stairs away from Gaius' chambers and Merlin's room, where he would be able to sleep, when they ran into a very pretty serving girl. One with dark skin and curly hair.

"My Lady," Gwaine extricated himself from Merlin and dipped into a very deep bow, so deep he almost fell over.

"Merlin," the girl appeared to be asking him for an explanation.

"My name is Gwaine, please my lady, gift me with the knowledge of yours," he slurred, his words a jumbled mess.

"Merlin, get him somewhere to sober up," she hefted the pitcher in her grip, giving it an annoyed glare.

Her friend seemed to notice something was off, "Whats wrong?" he asked.

The girl rolled her pretty brown eyes, "Cassie asked me to deliver wine to Sir Pelleas, apparently she offended him earlier," her tone indicated that Cassie was most likely not at fault, "but he sent it back. He doesn't drink anything someone else prepared," she rolled her eyes again.

Merlin laughed, "Knights are an odd lot," he agreed.

"Here, here!" Gwaine chimed in, holding up an imaginary tankard of meade in toast. He was ignored.

"Hey Gwen," the serving boy added, revealing the name of his pretty friend, and catching her attention as she headed back down the corridor, "Get some sleep," he reminded her gently.

She grimaced, "After this is all over, I will be getting plenty, believe me," she laughed humorlessly and strode off.

"Gwen," Gwaine mumbled, smiling at the name of the pretty serving girl.

Merlin looped his arm around the other man's shoulders and chuckled, "I wouldn't try with her, she's taken. By a knight," he pointed out as they made it to the stairs.

"Why are all the pretty ones taken?" the drunk man groaned causing his companion to chuckle again. Everything after that was a bit of a blur of stairs and stone corridors and the last thing he remembered was collapsing, face first, onto a bed, and the name Sir Pelleas tugging at something in his subconscious.

 **XXX**

Gwaine woke up in a manner all too familiar to him, though the bed part was new. He was horrifyingly hungover, but he was used to the feeling. Once he ate something and drank some water, he would feel less like bells were tolling against the inside of his skull.

The hangover was worth it though for the pain in the ass to Prince Arthur the bill from the tavern would be. He didn't have anything against the prince personally. In fact, and he would never admit it, he almost liked the man. He was fair and good in a fight, which, again, Gwaine would never admit.

But he had a problem with royalty. His mother would have called it a problem with authority, but he chose to ignore her.

Rolling over, he spotted Merlin asleep on a blanket on the floor. He did really feel bad about stealing the boys bed, but there so far hadn't been a night he was in Camelot when he'd been functional enough to insist on his new friend keeping his bed.

Slowly, so as not to wake the sleeping figure on the floor, and also so as not to fall on his face, Gwaine climbed out of bed. He stretched, which made the room spin more, but made his way out the door without incident.

Gaius was already awake and working on breakfast. He recalled the old man had been none too happy when he had come crashing through the door very late and very loud the night before. If he recalls properly, he'd been singing. And ode to the beautiful women of Camelot that he wrote on the spot.

"Don't smell it, or taste it, just drink," the physician held out a small glass bottle with a disgusting looking liquid in it. But seeing as there was nothing that could make his hangover worse, her downed it in one gulp. It was even more disgusting than it looked, and the taste lingered in his mouth. Gaius handed him a cup of water and the man nodded his thanks, drinking deeply. It helped.

He was halfway through breakfast, a slice of stale bread and a few pieces of meat, when the rest of the events of the night before came back to him. They had come back through the castle, and run into the pretty serving girl Merlin knew. The one who'd been delivering wine to Sir Pelleas. He knew the name.

"Merlin!" he shouted, jumping up and startling the physician again, and ran back to the small room he had been sharing with the boy in question who was sitting up, his hair in disarray and his eyes still clouded with sleep. "The knight, Sir Pelleas, how long has he been in Camelot?" he asked.

The blue eyed boy blinked groggily, "Who?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

Gwaine dropped into a squat, so as to be on eye level with his friend, "Sir Pelleas, Merlin, the one your pretty friend was bringing wine to, how long has he been in Camelot?" he demanded.

After a few rapid blinks and a shake of his head, the boy answered, "Uh, I think a few days, He got here just after you did. Came a long way too is what I heard," he paused, narrowing his eyes at the look on his friends face, "Why?" he asked, suddenly apprehensive.

Gwaine ran a hand through his hair, "If it is the same Sir Pelleas I'm thinking of, Camelot is in danger."

"Why?"

With a sigh, he explained, "There are rumors, in kingdoms far from here, of a man who will murder royalty to get people on the throne. They call him the king collector, and if the rumors are to be believed, he has been known to go by Sir Pelleas."

Merlin was on his feet so fast, it was almost as if by magic. "We have to warn Arthur!"

"Its our word against his, the king won't believe us," the other man's voice was bitter. He knew how commoners were treated different than nobility. And Sir Pelleas was a knight, albeit not a real one.

But the servant was already on the move, "Then we'll find proof," he decided, and scrambled for his jacket before hurrying down the stairs, obviously expecting Gwaine to follow him.

With a sigh, he did.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: I would love to know what anyone reading thinks of this chapter or any of the last few, so please drop me a review! Thanks my lovelies!**


	6. Chapter 6: Fake Knights and Sword Fights

**A/N: I am writing like crazy guys, this story has a mind of its own. It's awesome, though I'd love to see some reviews? Guys? Come on? Please? With a cherry on top? Like you could seriously leave me a review with the thumbs up emoticon and nothing else, and it would make my entire week.**

 **XXX**

Cassie woke the morning of Morgana's birthday, not to Arthur gently kissing her forehead, or pulling her body into his chest while he slept. She didn't even wake to Merlin's embarrassed grumbling and apologies about knocking. She woke in her own bed where she had passed out still in her clothes the night before after a long day watching the birthday girl running around to make sure everything was completely and totally ready. She woke to the sound of said birthday girl swinging open her door and screeching in indignation that she wasn't awake and ready yet.

Gwen followed her into the room, accompanied by someone the princess vaguely recognized from the stables, who if not for her half asleep state, she would have said hello to. He rolled in a large bathtub and she hoped for a little time to sit in a warm tub and wake up.

"Cassie, we have so much to do, and you must be ready. Wear that pretty pink dress today, I'm wearing silver, and we'll look pretty sitting next to each other," the birthday girl babbled. She was already dressed, her hair done in an intricate braid over her shoulder. Her friend did not need to be informed what color she was wearing, she could see the lines of the silver dress, but she was too tired to say anything.

"Yeah, yeah, _ya me voy_ " the princess groaned and heaved herself into a sitting position.

"I'll leave you to get ready then, just be quick, Gwen will help you with your hair. I have so much to get done, come to the great hall when you're ready!" she called over her shoulder walking for the door. The minute it shut behind her, Cassie collapsed on the bed with a groan. It was going to be a very long day.

She hadn't even had a chance to get up from the bed when her door burst open and in walked Merlin, "Good you're dressed," he said, striding past Gwen who was busy heating water in a cauldron over the fire to Cassie's bath.

"What is it now?" she groaned.

He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Gwen, "No!" she shook a finger at him, "Cassie has to get ready, not help you and Gwaine with whatever half baked scheme you're in the middle of. Now go, and figure it out yourself and I'm going to go get more water for Cassie's bath," she marched out of the room past him, casting one last foreboding look over her shoulder.

Waiting until she was out of earshot, he turned back to the princess who looked dead on her feet, and he almost told her to lay back down and he would handle it on his own. But he knew she was the best able to keep an eye on Arthur and someone had to.

"Sir Pelleas, he's some sort of assassin. He's probably here to kill Arthur or the king. Gwaine and I are working on finding proof, but I need you to watch them," he asked.

Cassie nodded, not even surprised anymore, and far too tired to be. What she wouldn't have done for coffee, or better yet, monster. "I will," she promised. He turned to leave, but she called out to him, "Merlin," he looked back at her, "Will you fix my bath water?" she asked, a sheepish smile on her face. She hated asking him to use his magic, but having a hot bath instantly that would stay hot as long as she needed it, that was one luxury she couldn't give up.

Merlin smiled at her, and muttered an incantation. The tub was suddenly full with steam rising from the top.

"Thanks" she muttered.

"You're welcome," came his response as he was already out the door.

With a tired sigh, Cassie sank into the water, feeling instantly better. Merlin had probably added magic to it, seeing how tired she was. She made a note to thank him later. She washed her hair and reluctantly got out of the tub to finish preparing for the day.

When she was finally ready, she rose from her vanity and walked out the door, ready to play her part as the kind princess and protect the king and prince of Camelot at any cost. She just hoped Merlin and his new friend were successful.

 **XXX**

Gwaine was having rotten luck trying to get proof that Sir Pelleas was not the man he claimed to be. He'd had to wait for the man to finally leave his room, watching as he stalked off, fists clenched at his sides and chin down. He looked angry enough to kill the king, and all Gwaine needed was proof.

He cracked open the door to the mans room and poked his head in. Seeing no one, he entered, looking around. There was nothing that stood out, screaming I'm a murderer. So he checked the drawers, the wardrobe. The chest that lay at the foot of the bed, all of which contained typical knights supplies. He frowned, looking around before dropping to the floor to check under the bed.

"Gotcha," he grinned, reaching under and pulling out a small chest. It was wooden and intricately carved. There was a small padlock on it and he frowned, unable to open it without alerting Sir Pelleas to the fact that someone was on to him. He sighed, "Oh well," and pulled the small knife out of his boot, using it to pop open the lock. When he opened it, he nearly dropped the thing in horror of what lie within. There were seven bloody fingers, all apparently from different people, all adorned with rings. The rings of kingdoms. Ones that signified the wearers place as a ruler. One of the fingers was slim enough that it could only have belonged to a woman. Some were older than others, but all had been dead for a time.

In a second compartment of the box was a single sheet of parchment that read _Uther Pendragon, Arthur Pendragon Princess Cassandra_. And bore the crest of some noble family that Gwaine could not quite place.

A noise in the hallway startled him and he quickly closed the box, slipping the parchment into his jacket pocket and shoving the wooden chest back under the bed. If he had needed proof before, there was no doubt he now had it.

Checking that the coast was clear, he slipped out of the room and hurried down the hall, the parchment burning a hole in his pocket. He had no question as to why the King Collector was there to kill the King and the Prince, but wondered what the Lady Cassandra had to do with it. Or who had ordered the assassin after them. He began to search for Merlin, to warn him or the princess that she was a target as well, but the celebrations on the castle grounds had begun and the palace was teeming with people, servants and nobles alike.

It wasn't until he heard the horn that signaled the start of the tournament that he knew where to look. Uther would be overseeing it, and Arthur would be competing, and unless he was wrong, the Lady Cassandra would be observing as well, probably cheering for her prince. He hadn't missed her jab at her fondness for said prince during their brief conversation. But despite the fact that she was enamored with nobility, he liked the girl. She was fun and quick witted, and far less demure or coquettish than other ladies of her standing. He liked that she had brazenly flirted with him, though her heart belonged to another man. He just hoped Arthur appreciated it.

The crowd around the tournament arena was huge, but he caught sight of Merlin's dark hair and bright scarf across the way. Pushing his way through the spectators, several of whom gave him nasty looks or elbows to the gut, he finally made it to the side of the arena where the competitors prepared. He was looking around so much for Merlin that he missed the large man in front of him until they bumped into each other. He looked up into the angry dark eyes of Sir Pelleas, and stood his ground. "Pardon," he mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on the man as he moved around him. Pelleas pushed through the crowd, elbowing liberally and making his way towards the dais where the king and the princess and the birthday girl sat.

Gwaine pushed harder through the crowd, having lost sight of Merlin during his run in with the assassin. He again caught a glimpse of the boy's dark hair and red scarf ducking into one of the tents and he ran for it. People shouted at him as he jostled them, but he kept going, bursting through the opening of the tent and catching Merlin and Prince Arthur by surprise.

The two stood there looking at him expectantly, though he suspected for different reasons. Merlin was just behind Arthur, buckling part of the prince's armor, staring at him with a question in his eyes. The Prince was giving him a much more skeptical look, but he had no time to be offended.

"Sir Pelleas is an assassin sent here to kill you, your father, and the princess Cassandra," he announced in that direct way that earned him so few friends.

The prince's brow furrowed, "What? How do you know?" he asked, shrugging Merlin's hands away from his shoulder and taking a step forward.

"The name sounded familiar, reminded me of a rumor I'd heard about the King Collector, that he sometimes went by Sir Pelleas. So I checked his room, and found this," he pulled the parchment out of his jacket pocket.

The prince took it and squinted at the words on the page, his blue eyes going wide at what he read. He looked back up at the man who'd saved his life, possibly twice now, and went into prince mode, "Gwaine, go get Cassie, bring her here, she needs to know. Merlin," he turned to the boy who'd read the names on the list over his shoulder, "go tell Sir Leon to keep an extra close eye on my father. Tell him there was a threat against the king, but we have no leads yet and do not want to arouse suspicion or create panic. Tell him that even the king is not to know," his voice was that of the future king and the other two men hurried out of the tent.

Gwaine didn't know Lady Cassandra very well, but he certainly liked her. And she'd already made it clear that she liked him, so he assumed that it would be no problem getting her to go with him to Arthurs tent.

He couldn't have been more wrong. The lady in question was sitting up on the dais with Uther and Morgana, her chair pulled up next to the king's ward, rather than in Arthurs customary place. The girls were giggling to each other, Gwen, the pretty serving girl standing just behind them, hiding her smiles with her hand at their antics.

There was no good way to approach her without catching Uther's attention. But he might not catch her attention if he tried to get it from the stands. He considered for a moment, finally deciding on the stands. If he couldn't get Cassie's attention, maybe he could get Gwen's and she could alert the princess for him. After shoving his way through the cramped bleachers, ignoring the angry grunts and mutters of the people he pushed past, Gwaine was close enough to touch the hem of Gwen's dress.

"Lady Cassandra," he stage whispered to her. It was too loud for her to hear him, so he tried again, a bit louder. This time the serving girl at her back heard him and turned to glare at him, her eyes narrowing when she recognized him. "Please, lovely Gwen, I have a message from Prince Arthur for the Lady Cassandra," he turned his charm up as far as it would go.

It apparently didn't work because the girl rolled her eyes, "Give me the message, and I will inform the lady," she bargained, immune to his flattery.

Gwaine frowned, both at the fact that his charm hadn't worked on her, and that he couldn't very well tell Cassandra's servant that someone was trying to kill her. "Tell her that the prince wants to see her in his tent immediately," he said. It seemed ambiguous enough.

To his surprise, the servant rolled her eyes again, muttering something about men and their egos under her breath before catching the Princess' attention, and conveying his message. She turned her sharp hazel eyes on him and he tried to convey with his own that this was an emergency.

"Pardon me Morgana, I think Arthur must need me to wish him luck or some stupid superstitious something. Men and their egos," she repeated Gwen's words, causing the darker girl to smile and shoot him an I-told-you-so look as the princess rose. She smiled at him as she descended the stairs, an almost mischievous smile that made him like her all the more and allowed him to lead the way out of the crowd. Once they could walk in tandem, he offered his arm with a bow and a flourish, causing the princess to laugh as she took it.

"I'm assuming we're dealing with something more important than Arthur's ego?" she asked as they walked, hurried, but not enough so as to draw attention to themselves.

"I doubt there is much more important to Arthur than his ego," Gwaine joked before he could stop himself. It was inappropriate, but what else was new. The woman on his arm laughed loudly, nodding her approval of his joke. He knew he liked her.

They arrived at the Prince's tent then and the two ducked inside to see the blonde man turn quickly, his sword in hand. Relief broke across his face at the sight of the princess and all laughter disappeared from her eyes, replaced quickly by worry.

"What's wrong?" she asked, going to him and taking his hand. Gwaine watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. The two were clearly very close, so the rumors of their unofficial engagement must be true.

The blonde man dropped a kiss to her head before answering, "There is an assassin in Camelot, here for my father, and myself, and you," his emphasis on the last two words was unnecessary, her mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes went wide. All three of them jumped when Merlin re-entered the tent, but the boy was good enough not to say anything.

"So how do you know this Sir Pelleas is after me?" she asked, looking around at the other three.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but Gwaine beat him to it, "I found a list of your names in his room, with the seal of some noble house on it," he explained, "With souvenirs that prove he's the king collector," he grimaced at the thought of the fingers in the chest beneath Pelleas' bed.

"So if we have proof, we can bring it to the king's attention immediately. Get him thrown in the dungeon, executed by morning," Merlin suggested.

Cassandra pointed her finger at him, her eyes flitting between all of them, "If you ruin Morgana's birthday and her celebrations that I busted my ass planning, I will personally murder all of you," she fixed her gaze on Arthur, "Crown prince or not," she snapped, "You three figure this shit out, figure out who called the hit, and Arthur, beat him in the tournament please. I don't want to see him at the feast tonight," she glared one last time at all of them, before leaning up and kissing Arthur's cheek with surprising tenderness after her harsh words. "Good luck," she whispered to him and walked out.

Gwaine nodded in approval, "I knew I liked her," he said with a grin, earning himself a smile from Merlin and a glare from the Prince.

"While Sir Pelleas and I fight in the tournament, you two need to find out whose seal that is, and a way to prove he was the king collector," the prince instructed, his shoulders set and his expression grim.

"Was?" Merlin asked, though their new friend knew exactly what the Prince meant.

The blonde man sighed, "I'm going to kill him in the tournament Merlin," he explained without his usual bite. The boy was silent, but it was clear how conflicted he was.

So Gwaine answered for him, "We'll figure it out Arthur," he promised, and took hold of Merlin's elbow to drag him out of the tent before he could protest.

 **XXX**

"Where are we going?" Gwaine asked from a few paces behind him as they hurried through the mostly deserted castle. Between the tournament and the carnival, most of the servants were busy enjoying themselves and most of the nobles were out showing off to their ladies.

"The library," Merlin responded, hurrying around the next corner, spotting the door of the massive room, swung open like it always was. A tiny smile tugged at one corner of his mouth, Geoffrey wasn't one to take a day off for a celebration.

The man behind him scoffed, "I don't think anything in the library is going to tell us how to prove Pelleas is an assassin."

Rolling his eyes the servant stopped before the door and turned to his new friend, "No, but theres a book in there that will tell us whose seal this is," he pointed out.

Gwaine sighed, the boy had a point, and followed him into the cavernous room. A white haired old man sat behind a desk near the entrance, dozing lightly, with papers strewn across the desk, fluttering slightly as he snored. Geoffrey was getting too old for this job.

Merlin slipped past him, down the isle he remembered the book of seals being in, trailed by his new friend, who actually looked vaguely impressed at the size of the library. He pulled the book off its high shelf and took it to one of the small tables situated along the back wall where he opened it with a small satisfying thump of a leather cover on wood. He gestured for the sheet of parchment on which the seal was printed and Gwaine dug it out of his pocket. He smoothed it out on the table next to the book. The seal was mostly red, with silver and green mixed in, and depicted a bird of prey in attack.

He was almost all the way through the book when the other man stopped him, "That one, Gorlouse" he whispered, pointing. The sigil was in a corner of the page. The name underneath gave Merlin pause.

"Do you recognize it?" Gwaine asked.

The boy nodded, his blue eyes wide, "I think so. But its impossible. No one alive still bears this crest. Except…" he trailed off, confused. There was no way.

"Except who?" his companion prompted.

He looked up, "Morgana. This is the sigil of her mother's house. But her mother was an only child, her parents died when she was young and Morgana's mother died when she was a child," he explained in a whisper.

"Is it possible it was the lady Morgana?" the other man asked, eyebrows up.

Merlin shook his head immediately. But doubt bloomed in his chest. Morgana had been reserved and secretive lately. Even Cassie thought she was hiding something. But it couldn't be this. There was nothing that could make Morgana betray her friends like this. Arthur and Uther were practically family.

"Then someone is trying to set her up, or she's got family she doesn't know of,"Gwaine suggested, folding the paper back up and tucking it into his jacket. "Either way, it's a dead end. Lets get back to the tournament, and maybe keep Arthur from actually killing the man."

Nodding, Merlin got up and closed the book, "Maybe we can get Pelleas to tell us who hired him," he agreed, walking back down the isle and placing it on its shelf. He led the way out of the library and back towards the field where the tournament was being held. They got there just in time to watch Sir Pelleas destroy another knight, appearing gracious as he bowed to the other man, despite his victory.

Looking for Cassie, he caught a glimpse of her through the people gathered around the tournament arena. The distasteful look on her face made him laugh. Not matter the situation, or how much her life was in danger, Cassie remained cavalier. It was possibly his favorite thing about her and he hoped it never changed. There was a short break in the fighting to allow the finalists to rest before their last fight to determine the winner. As expected, Arthur and Pelleas were the finalists.

Merlin and Gwaine met Arthur in his tent. The prince was aggravated and tense. It was clear he didn't like the idea of killing, though it was necessary. And it would probably ruin Morgana's birthday.

He snapped orders at Merlin while Gwaine watched, his mouth twisted in distaste. He disliked that the prince was so commanding and didn't treat his servant as well as he could. But the boy never seemed to mind. It was as if their dynamic just worked that way. So he said nothing, watching the two of them, Arthur angry and Merlin making small supportive comments that he could tell the prince appreciated, though he would never show it.

Merlin smiled slightly at Gwaine's scrutiny. He appreciated that his new friend wanted to look out for him. They both followed the prince out of the tent and down to the field. Arthur looked anxious, but as always, Merlin would help him. Though since they had erased his memory of his servant's magic, the prince didn't know that.

He went out onto the field, giving Cassie a long look, she blew him a kiss. Gwaine made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a groan. "Too bad she's taken," he shook his head.

"You aren't going to last very long with Arthur if you keep talking like that about Cassie," the servant informed him, giving him a brief but stern look.

"I'm only joking," the taller man explained, laughing, "Besides, she's not my type," he grinned, "I much prefer blondes."

The sorcerer shook his head, smiling at Gwaine's flirtatious attitude. His smile dropped as the bell rang to indicate the match had begun. He watched closely as the two men fought. It was clear that the Prince was the better fighter, but Sir Pelleas was good, and at some point Arthur would slip up. Merlin watched closely, keeping his eyes on their movements. As the prince began to tire, Pelleas managed several lucky blows, nearly catching his opponent.

Finally, he was unable to watch anymore, or leave the battle up to chance. He murmured a spell under his breath and watched as Sir Pelleas tripped, falling hard to the ground and gasped with the rest of the crowd at the sickening crack that sounded as his arm crumpled beneath him. The man still swung his sword at the prince who neatly dodged him.

Pelleas cried out in pain and frustration. The match was called and two guards rushed onto the field to help pull him off, followed closely by Gaius.

The plan was simple from there. Merlin went to Pelleas' chambers to fetch him a clean set of clothes for after his arm was set and tripped over the chest in his haste. The lock was open and when the hit list and the fingers fell out, he brought it to Arthur, who obviously brought it to the king.

Sir Pelleas was put in the dungeon with Morgana none the wiser. Celebrations continued as they should.

The three men were very pleased with themselves as they drank together at the banquet. They were seated in Camelot's main banquet hall, with the rest of the court. The food had not yet been served so the guests milled around the space with their drinks, chatting and laughing. The servants looked exhausted but they had a day off in the morning to look forward to. Merlin stood with a pitcher of wine, waiting to refill the goblets of any who needed it.

"Where is the birthday girl anyway?" Gwaine asked, looking around, sure he would have noticed her entrance. She didn't seem one for subtlety.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "She is insisting on making a late entrance. Something Cassie put in her head. They call it fashionably late. I think its because they want everyone to look at them when they enter," he shook his head, with the smallest of smiles on his face, unable to truly speak ill of the two women.

It took another few minutes, but just as Arthur predicted, the two entered the room and caught everyones attention.

Cassie and Gwen came first, and that was all Arthur needed to see, all but ignoring Morgana and the lavish dress she had on.

Gwen was dressed far different from the way she usually was, a lavender silk dress that hung from her shoulders and outlined her curves. The color was perfect on her, making her dark skin stand out prettily. His eyes moved quickly from her to Cassie, her smile captivating, then flicked to Morgana as she entered behind the other two.

The birthday girl wore a dress of emerald silk, a mesh of tiny emeralds and rubies coming up from the top of the bodice around her shoulders and neck, giving the illusion of a modest neckline. The high waist flared out into a skirt that puffed out around her hips, falling to the floor where, at the hem were more tiny green and white jewels. Her hair was up in a high updo, putting her dress on full display.

His eyes found Cassie's as she picked him out in the crowd and he went to her, ignoring the murmurs all around them. Though her dress was beautiful, he was far more interested in the happiness in her eyes.

"Do you like it?" she asked, glancing down at it.

"Definitely," he replied, unable to keep the smile off his face. The dress was gold and strapless, the neckline dipping in the center. The bodice was embroidered with tiny rubies, that seemed to spill down to her hips where they petered out into plain gold fabric, that shone as if it was woven with the ore itself. It was tight, clinging to her hips and legs, relaxing slightly at the floor where she had the smallest of trains behind her.

She grinned and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek, "Gwen is absolutely genius, and it's the Pendragon colors," she reminded him.

He returned the kiss, this time meeting her lips briefly, and smiled as he looked down at her again, "I know, it makes you look like you're my princess, just as it should be," he pushed one of her dark curls behind her ear, running a thumb over the gold circlet set in her loose hair. It was engraved with a dragon with ruby eyes. He recognized it from the vaults. It had been his mothers. "Where did you get that?" he asked, his face becoming serious.

The bit her lip and looked down, "Merlin. Gwen told him about the dress and he borrowed it from the vaults for me. You don't mind do you?" she asked, "Because I can put it back now if you do, I just hoped you wouldn't…" she trailed off, her hazel eyes unsure.

Arthur kissed her soundly. In front of everyone, his hand tangling in her hair at the back of her head, and pressing her closer. When they parted, people were staring, but he couldn't have cared less. "No, I want you to have it. She would have too."

Her smile was blinding, and she took his hand in hers, her fingers weaving between his, "I love you," she told him, finally turning to the other guests. She chatted amiably with the knights, her prince always at her side.

The couple joined the king and Morgana at the high table, the birthday girl's eyes alight with glee and the king fixing the princess who wore his wife's crown with a glare. Arthur knew it hurt Cassie that his father doubter her commitment to him since she declined his proposal, but he knew she loved him, and one day, he would marry her and prove it to his father.

They bestowed their gifts upon the lady, who enjoyed both of them. The dagger Arthur gave her was beautifully crafted, and well balanced, if a little boring. And she had laughed in glee at the boots the princess gifted her. Her excitement at her new horse was barely contained and she only stayed in the banquet hall instead of rushing to see it because of the dress she wore. They ate together, talking and laughing and then, when the felt they would not be missed, the couple slipped out early. Because as much as Arthur loved Cassie in that dress, he couldn't wait to get her out of it.

Spanish Translations: _Ya me voy_ : I'm going already

 **XXX**

 **A/N: Next chapter Ryan and Cassie are reunited! Reviews make me update faster!**


	7. Chapter 7: Finding A Light

**A/N: Still writing like a crazy person. I hope someone is enjoying this? This chapter is where shit hits the fan, so get excited!**

 **XXX**

Danielle smiled as she walked out of the woods to see the castle of Camelot and the lower town spread out before her across a small field. She had made it. She turned her grin on Ryan and Leanne, who rode on his back, talking his ear off, to which he listened good naturedly.

She appreciated that he was good with her little sister. It made her trust him more than anything else about him. Even his apparent honesty with her about his origins. She was unsure of whether he was really from the future, despite his demonstrations of something called a cell phone, which appeared to be a hunk of black metal with a glowing center, and a drivers license, which bore a miniature of his exact likeness and was made of some sort of thin slightly flexible material. Her favorite part of his proof of being from the future was what he referred to as credit cards, which apparently served in the place of currency in his world of New York. She believed he was from somewhere far away, but not from the future.

The problem was that he believed he was from the future. It wasn't a problem necessarily, just a confusion. He believed he was from the future, so he would try to return to it, which he couldn't, despite whoever was in Camelot he thought could help him. But she wasn't about to ruin his illusion, so she kept her mouth shut and let him listen to Leanne as she told him of everything she learned in her books.

He had explained that he had little sisters as well. Three of them with pretty, foreign sounding names, who appeared to be the light of his life. He had briefly mentioned the disappearance of a dear friend, and the death of her brother, but other than that hadn't mentioned much family. Then again, he may not have much more family. Leanne was Danielle's only family after all.

"Look Lee," he said to the child, having taken to call her Lee after two days of traveling with them, "There's Camelot, we're almost there," he said hefting her higher onto his back and shooting a grin at her sister.

"I hope Camelot has a nice library," the little girl sighed, causing her adult companions to exchange knowing looks. The child was a complete bookworm, and it was adorable.

They made their way through the wide and open field, the high grass parting for them as they stepped through it. Something told her that Camelot would be successful for her. She'd only ever heard good things about those who ruled Camelot, and she would be more than happy for a position in that household.

When they entered the lower town a half hour later, they were greeted with the bustle of a town in celebration. Danielle had heard rumors of Camelot's preparations for the Lady Morganas birthday when they were at one of the inns on their way into Camelot. The lower town was full of people making their way towards the castle, ready for the celebrations. Ryan put Leanne down and he and Danielle stood on either side of her, holding her hands as she began to tug them through the streets towards the faint music they could hear as they got closer. Judging by the position of the sun, it was well after midday, but the festivities were just picking up.

When they arrived at the castle grounds they stopped, looking around. Off in one direction was a tournament arena, and in the other appeared to be a carnival. There were jugglers and dancers and even a chance for the children to ride one of the knights horses. Leanne gasped as one of the performers blew fire out of his mouth and dragged her companions behind her to go watch. They made an odd little group, the tiny blonde child between the girl with hair like fire and the dark man in strange clothes. But no one seemed to notice in the mass of people.

The two let the child lead them around, towards the dancers next, where she watched wide eyed as beautiful women, danced with each other, their feet barely seeming to touch the ground as their brightly colored skirts swished around them. Leanne got to ride the horse, the kind looking knight with wavy blonde hair, smiling up at her as she giggled, calling, "Look Dani, look Ryan, I'm a knight of Camelot!"

Danielle used some of their dwindling supply of money to buy the girl a small red scarf to wave for the last fight of the tournament. They chose a position along the edge of the arena, Leanne sitting on Ryan's shoulders as she waved the small red scrap of fabric.

"That's the king," the redhead pointed out to Ryan. From their angle, they could just see the side of his face as he sat on the dais, "His son, Prince Arthur is fighting in this last round of the tournament," she gestured towards the blonde man who was snatching his helmet out of the hand of a dark haired boy, probably his servant.

"Prince Arthur?" Ryan sounded confused.

"Yes. His father, Uther is the king, and the woman there," she pointed at the pale, dark haired woman who sat just to the right of the king, "Is the lady Morgana, it's her birthday," she watched s Ryan nodded, "And past her, you can't really see her, but that must be the lady Cassandra," she pointed at the dark haired woman who sat to Morgana's right. She was smaller than the other woman, and hard to see around the king's ward.

He laughed softly and Danielle looked at him with questioning eyes, "My friend, the one who disappeared, her father studies this era of history. She was named after Cassandra of Camelot." His smile was bitter. She didn't know how to respond to his insinuation that the present was his history, or his obvious pain at the loss of his friend Cassandra, but he continued, "I knew her my whole life, but I didn't even know that until after she disappeared. I found a book she had been reading about Camelot and her father and I talked about it, and he told me he named her after that woman," he gestured slightly to her, his face twisted in pain.

She was saved responding as the fight began, the two men hacking at each other with swords. They were well matched, and the fight went on for a few minutes, the two dancing around each other. It was clear when the prince began to tire and his opponent made a few lucky strikes, before the other man suddenly tripped, crashing to the ground, his arm twisting under him at an awkward angle. They heard the snap as the audience went silent, followed by the man's last attempt at swinging his sword at the prince and his cry of agony.

Almost before she could think about it, Ryan reached up and removed her sister from his shoulders, holding her against his chest so she couldn't see the blood or the bone sticking out of the man's arm on the field. It was an action that indicated his experience protecting young children and she appreciated it.

He led them away from the field, back towards the jugglers, letting Leanne enjoy the festivities. Her life was so uncertain from that moment forward, that she deserved to enjoy herself for the day. They attended the feast that night, free food and celebration were big draws for them. They sat in the courtyard of the castle, amongst other residents of the lower town and even some of the farther villages. They ate their fill and listened to the music, milling around and mostly listening to conversation. Danielle kept her eyes out for someone to ask for an audience with the king.

A beautiful, dark, curly-haired woman in a pretty lavender gown exited the castle. Danielle watched as she flitted between different peasants and lords and ladies, making sure they were comfortable and had enough to eat and drink. From the way she was dressed, she could have been a lady, but her actions belied a servant. She must have been high in favor with her mistress. She was the perfect person to ask.

"Watch Leanne," she instructed Ryan, and his arm went around the chattering child automatically. She continued to tell him about how she would learn to dance and be as pretty as one of the dancers they had seen that day. He told her she already was. The older sister slipped away with a smile, making a bee line for the woman in the purple dress.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked, her eyes bright and her smile welcoming. Danielle curtseyed and the woman blushed, "There is no need for that. I am simply a servant," she clarified.

The redhead smiled slightly, "I hoped that you could help me. My sister and I are seeking refuge in Camelot. She is only a child and I cannot promise her safety. I have been a ladies maid, and only look for work, my friend is looking for a way home, he is lost and far from his home and his family, and he needs help as well. Please, grant us an audience with your king," she pleaded.

The woman frowned, "The king will not be seeing any audience tomorrow," she bit her lip, as if uncertain, "but the next day, come to the castle in the morning. He will be hearing the grievances of the residents of Camelot and their requests. Ask for Gwen, I can help assure that you and your friend will be heard," she nodded, her hands twisting together.

"Thank you, thank you, my lady, we are most grateful," she restrained herself from hugging the woman or saying more.

The woman beamed, "You are welcome," she took Danielle's hands, squeezing them gently before releasing her and hurrying off to tend to a man who was far too drunk.

Danielle returned to Ryan and Leanne whose chatter was starting to slow as she grew tired. "We have an audience with the king two days from now. We'd best find a place to sleep for the night," she suggested.

He nodded and lifted Leanne into his arms. She giggled sleepily and curled up against his chest. Her sister hid her smile at the sweetness with which Ryan dealt with the child. They managed to claim the last unoccupied room at an inn at the very outer edge of the lower town. Again, Ryan slept on the floor. She felt slightly guilty each time she woke to see him uncomfortable and sleepless, but his kind and quiet demeanor never faltered.

They spent the day wandering Camelot. It was quiet, everyone still tired from the day before. But they found themselves becoming familiar with the area, retiring early to be ready for the next morning, when they were to go see the king.

Again Ryan slept on the floor.

 **XXX**

He was really starting to regret this arrangement. His shoulders hurt and he was fairly sure his spine was misaligned. He had a cramp in his thigh and he wanted a shower more than anything in the world. But he would have to settle for the wash bin in the corner after Danielle and Leanne were up and out of the room.

The sisters were dressing now, behind the screen in the opposite corner. Leanne was giggling as her sister tried to braid her hair. After a moment the girl ran out from behind the screen, her hair in disarray and flopped on the bed. Two minutes later, after some grumbling and fussing, Danielle followed, her dress only slightly rumpled.

"All yours," she smiled at Ryan before going to fix her sister's hair. He went to the screen and dragged it over to block the basin in the corner, he stripped off his t-shirt and jeans, using the scrap of rag and the course bar of strange smelling soap to wash. He splashed water in his hair to try to make it behave, but his thick, wavy hair was difficult and wouldn't lie flat. So he gave up, redressed and joined Danielle and Leanne for their small breakfast.

Ryan was unused to castles, and the size of the massive white stone structure had him in awe as they walked through the gates in the early morning sunlight. Danielle and Leanne seemed impressed by Camelot, but nowhere near as in awe as he was. It was a real, live castle, with guards in chain mail and knights in long capes moving through the courtyard. The inside was just as impressive, with opulent rooms and high ceilings.

They found themselves in a line of peasants and farmers and others who were there to ask the king for favors. Danielle approached a serving boy as he rushed through the hallway. He had dark hair and wide blue eyes and Ryan recognized him as the prince's servant. She asked for someone, indicating Ryan and Leanne behind her. The boys eyes narrowed at his appearance, but flit back to his companion, nodding and hurrying off.

After a few minutes, the woman Danielle had spoken to at the banquet the night before hurried up to them, her hair now in a simple bun and her dress much less ornate. She was still pretty, especially so with the wide smile that filled her face at the sight of them.

"Come, the king will see you," she took the red-head's hand and led the three towards the large set of doors at the end of the hall. "When the guards tell you, go on through," she smiled, "good luck!" and she was gone, slipping off down a side passage.

They waited maybe a minute before the guards nodded to them and swung open the doors to the massive throne room. The room was long, with high ceilings and tall, wide windows along one wall. Thrones sat at the top of a short set of steps at the end of the room, one incredibly ornate, seeming to be made of gold with red, velvet cushions. Two beautifully carved wooden chairs sat beside it, two women seated in them, their dresses overlapping on the floor. A man who could only be the king sat on the throne, a crown on his head and a bored expression on his face. A blonde man who could only be the prince from the day before, paced in the space next to the throne.

Exchanging a look with Danielle, the two made their way into the room, Leanne between them, her hands clutched tightly around the two of theirs. They were almost to the thrones at the end when the woman sitting in the one closest to the window finally looked out at him, her hair falling away from her face.

Ryan froze, looking on a face he had known since he was a very small child, one that had haunted him for the last year.

"Cassie?" he asked, his voice ringing through the large, silent room. He expected the shock on her face was mirrored on his own.

"Ryan?"

"Ryan?" Cassie stood, staring at the man she hadn't seen in a year. Her drummer, her childhood best friend, her neighbor, the man she considered her brother, was standing in front of her, fifteen hundred years back in time, in Camelot.

They stood, frozen, staring at each other for a few painful seconds. Then she ran down the steps, and slammed into him, her arms wrapping around his neck and his coming around her ribs a moment later.

She pulled away, taking a step back, taking his hands in hers, "I- You-" she cut off, " _Como puedes estar aqui?_ " she asked, before realizing that the woman next to him was gaping at them, open mouthed, clutching the hand of a small child. " _Quienes son ellas?_ " she asked, looking at the two to indicate who she meant.

He glanced at his companions and back at her, " _Me estan ayudando_ ," he told her.

" _Confias en ellas_?" she asked, her mind going a mile a minute. He nodded. She could not let Ryan tell Uther whatever version of a story he could come up with and risk being exposed. And she couldn't let Ryan say the wrong thing and risk exposing Merlin or himself. So she turned to the woman. She was tall, with long red-gold hair that shone in the light from the windows. "Thank you, for bringing my Ryan to me," she hugged the woman, startling her, but she held tight, pulling herself up so she could whisper in her ear, "I need you to pretend to faint. To help me protect him," she stood back and stared hard into the wide blue eyes of the woman before her. She looked panicked, distrustful, her eyes darting between Cassie and Ryan.

She curtseyed deeply, "Thank you my lady," she came up, and opened her mouth to speak again, but instead swooned, stumbling in Ryan's direction before falling, seemingly unconscious into his arms.

The only sound heard in the room was the child,'s terrified voice, "Dani?" before the room began to move again.

"Gaius," Cassie called to the old man, before leaning down to the little girl. She had never been great with kids, Ryan's sisters the only exceptions, but she tried, putting on her best smile, "Dani is helping Ryan and me, can you come with us?" she offered a hand, and the little girl looked at her with skepticism and fear before accepting it. "My lord," the princess turned to the king who was watching the ordeal with raised eyebrows from his chair.

"Go, we shall dine together this evening, you may introduce us then," he didn't look happy about it, but he sat back, bored once again.

She dropped into a deep curtsey, "Thank you my lord," she said to the floor and turned to hurry after Gaius, catching Arthur's gaze on the way. He looked panicked and concerned. She smiled at him, but it was all the reassurance she could give. She held the child's hand a bit tighter and turned, indicating with her eyes the Ryan should follow them.

When they made it up to Gaius' chambers, Cassie closed the door behind her and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, you can stop pretending to be unconscious," she said to the redhead, who, to everyone's surprise groaned and sat up in Ryan's arms. She elbowed him till he put her down.

"Dani!" the little girl shouted and ran to hug her.

"It's okay Lee, I was just pretending to help the princess," she looked over the girl's head at Cassie, mistrust in her eyes.

But the fake princess didn't have time to apologize because Ryan was glaring at her, "Princess?" he asked, "Cass, what the hell is going on?"

She glared at him and turned back to the woman and girl, "Thank you, both, very much for helping Ryan, and for helping me," she looked at her friend who was seething, "He and I have a few things to discuss, please make yourselves comfortable, you are my guests," she turned to the old physician who had been watching them with a look of slowly dwindling confusion on his face, "Gaius, do you have any tea? Or something for the ladies to drink?" she asked him. The little girl giggled at being called a lady.

"Yes, I think I have something," he gave the girls a kind look and turned to a shelf to look through the bottles there.

"Ryan," she said, indicating her head towards Merlin's room. He followed her and stared around in confusion as she closed the door behind her. She sighed before turning back to him. She didn't know how to begin, how to explain what had happened to her, what had happened in Camelot, how it was now her home. He wouldn't understand. And she had so many questions. So many. How was he here? Who were the two women in the other room? What were they going to do now? The last question was more for herself, but as soon as she opened her mouth to say something, he beat her to it.

"Cass, what the fuck is this? Where have you been? How did you get here? Why does everyone here think you're a princess? Why haven't you come home?" he asked, all in one breath.

She deflated. Of course he was angry. He had been angry after Alex, and now she had left him too. So she launched into the story from the beginning. She had gone to see her brother after tour and ended up in Camelot. She'd been there six months, maybe longer, trying to get home. But in that time she had come to think of the people in the castle as family, and as friends. When she did finally come home she didn't remember anything, and no time had passed. But when she did remember, she couldn't bear it. She cut off there, unsure how much more to tell him. He was angry. He blamed her for leaving, and she had. But he was here now, and she could still repair her friendship with him. So she told her first lie of the story, another in a long series that now made up her life, "I went back to visit Alex. I was doing better, ready to be home, and I don't know what happened, I ended up back here. I don't know how," she lied, "But Ryan, I've been here a year. This has become my home, what else was I supposed to do?" her words were pleading, but his face was a mask.

"Why a princess?" he asked, his face and tone both expressionless. He was processing.

With a sigh she explained how she needed the help of Gaius and others in Camelot to find her way home, and the best way to have an unquestioned extended stay at the castle was to be a princess from a faraway land that had fallen to invaders.

"So you've been lying to these people since you got here, but they're your family now?" he asked, bite to his voice.

She glared at him, "I have not lied to all of them, that old man out there knows everything. As does Merlin. And you know what Ryan, what would you have done huh? Run around telling everyone you're from the future in a place where magic is punished with death? Or explained to everyone that you're a poor musician from New York and ended up living on the dirt streets with no way to make money because people don't pay musicians very much here and they certainly don't pay for our music. I made the best with what I had, and you know what? I'm happy here. So you can take your condescension and your anger and your bullshit, and stick it, because here, I'm a fucking Princess and I just saved your life," she snapped.

He looked shocked. The Cassie he knew stood up for herself, yes, but when he knew her, she would have crumbled under his anger, still too weak from the loss of her brother to get angry at the only family she had left. She had certainly changed.

But he had changed too, "What happened, you got too comfortable in your stolen castle to come home again?" he hissed.

"If I knew a way to get home, don't you think I'd have done it already? Come to say hi to mom and dad, and your family and tell them I'm okay. Come to pick up jeans because I miss them. I can't do both Ryan. And I don't know how to. This is my life now, and until we figure out how and if we can get you home, its yours too, so you can suck it up and listen to me, or I can let the king burn you at the stake for talking about time travel and showing off your cell phone."

He looked like he wanted to say something else but stopped himself, realizing that she was probably right. "Fine, so what's my story?" he asked.

She frowned at him, aware that he was still angry and still wanted to hurt her, but she looked him over. "You're a knight. From my kingdom, we grew up together. Our king has been captured, and you were sent to keep me safe. Alright?"

"How am I supposed to pretend to be a knight, you were the one who fenced in high school," he complained.

"Your father taught you all his sword fighting techniques," she reminded him.

He stared at her in confusion, "You mean from when he used to work at Medieval Times? And all those renaissance fairs? That stuff was real sword fighting, not just for show?" he asked.

The fake princess nodded, "I mean the actual technique is a little less showy, but it's the same basics. You'll be fine," she told him.

He didn't like it, she could tell, but he nodded, "Where are we supposed to be from anyway?" he asked.

Cassie winced, "Puerto Rico," she informed him.

Ryan laughed, then raised his eyebrows, taking in her serious expression, "Oh, you're not kidding?" he asked. She shook her head, her lips pressed together. "Why? Cass we aren't Puerto Rican," he said.

"I was in a pinch," she grit out between clenched teeth.

"You couldn't have said America, or the Dominican Republic?" he asked, shaking his head.

Rolling her eyes, the woman stood taller, "You can't be the princess of united states, or a republic," she snapped. Then eager to change the subject, "Who are they, out there," she nodded her head towards the door, "How much have you told them?"

He sighed, "Everything. Well, I told Danielle everything, her sister, the little one does most of the talking otherwise," he smiled.

"What're they looking for?" she asked.

"Danielle is looking for work. She's running from another kingdom where she was a servant to the kings sister, the prince killed her best friend in front of her. She needs help. Cassie, you're in a position to help her here," he told her.

She considered for a minute, trying to figure out Ryan's motives, his reasons and his anger, "Of course. I haven't allowed anyone to give me a maid, but I'm sure we could arrange for it, if that's what she wants," she nodded.

"Good," he said and marched out of the room, freezing on the stairs. She peeked over his shoulder and saw her prince staring at Ryan, the two giving each other appraising looks.

"Well shit," she muttered and pushed past her friend, a hand on his shoulder as she made her way down the stairs, for what promised to be a very interesting conversation.

 **XXX**

Spanish Translations:

 _Como puedes estar aquí?:_ How can you be here?

 _Quienes son ellas?_ : Who are they?

 _Me estan ayudando_ : They're helping me

 _Confias en ellas?_ : Do you trust them?

 **A/N: I really want to know what you guys think of Cassie and Ryan's dynamic. It's one of the hardest things to write in this story.**


	8. Chapter 8: Caught In Between

**A/N: This chapter is kinda a hodge podge of things, so I apologize for that, but it kinda works? So not sorry? Reviews would be lovely my dears!**

 **XXX**

"Cassie?" the man walking into the throne room asked, stopping in his tracks when he saw her.

Arthur's head snapped towards her as she looked up, her eyes going wide and her mouth dropping open.

"Ryan?" she stood, still in shock, then shook off her surprise and ran to him, flinging herself into his arms, where she buried her face in his shoulder, and hugged him tightly. After a moment she pushed herself back from him and spoke to him in her language. With his response, the prince realized it must be a language that they shared. They spoke quickly, rapid fire in their language. Then the princess turned to the woman with him. "Thank you, for bringing my Ryan to me," she said and hugged the girl. He didn't miss how she referred to the man as hers.

Uther glanced at his son and rolled his eyes. The prince knew his father thought Cassie was inconsistent and unworthy of him. He had resented that she did not accept his marriage proposal, and that other than her obvious love for its prince and its people, she had nothing to offer Camelot. But he didn't know how to change his father's mind on the woman he loved, just as he had always been unable to change his father's mind on anything. His attention was pulled back to the middle of the room when the redhead fainted.

Cassie handled it well, as she usually did in a moment of panic, calling for Gaius, calming the child and requesting their leave from the king, who granted it, with a promise to dine with her later, which was strange considering his dwindling affection for her.

They left the throne room and a farmer entered behind them, pleading his case that some travelers started a campfire on his lands that got out of hand and burnt half his crops. The minute he left, Arthur gestured for Merlin to follow him out of the throne room. He would probably get a lecture from his father later, but he had to know what was going on with Cassie and whoever Ryan was to her.

It wasn't that he was jealous. He wasn't. He had her in his bed every night and he could see her eyes light up every time he came into a room. And she called him hers. But she had called this other man hers as well, and while he wasn't jealous, he was filled with a green tinged curiosity. Not that he would ever admit it, especially not to Merlin who was fixing him with a suspicious and knowing look. Sometimes it unnerved him how well his servant knew him. Then again, they had spent the better part of the last four or five years together, so maybe it wasn't such a surprise.

"I want to make sure Cassie is alright," he answered the dark haired man's unasked question with a grunt.

"Of course sire," he tried and failed to hide a smile.

By the time they made it up to Gaius' rooms, the woman who fainted was awake and sipping a cup of tea while Gaius explained what several of the flowers in his collection did medicinally to the child. Cassie could be heard shouting unintelligibly in Merlin's room, the deep tones of this Ryan's voice answering her, just as angry.

Arthur clenched his fists. It was none of his business, but he didn't like that this man was yelling at her. Only the fact that he knew Cassie would be furious stopped him from intervening.

The woman finally noticed him and jumped up to curtsey. She nudged the child who did the same. The little girl was maybe five or six, with porcelain skin, sprinkled liberally with freckles and wide blue eyes. Her hair was fine and blonde, if a little messy.

"Please, sit, are you alright?" Arthur asked the redhead. Though red was such an inadequate word for the fire color of her hair. She shared the blue eyes and freckles with the girl and he assumed they were related.

"I am fine my lord," she answered, sitting slowly, "just tired from our journey," she looked more annoyed than tired.

"Well, you are in good hands. Gaius is the best physician in all of Camelot," he told her with a forced smile.

"Thank you my lord," the man responded, a fond smile on his face for the man he had known since he was a child.

Cassie and her companion had gone quiet and Arthur hoped it meant she would emerge soon. He didn't have to wait very long, as the door swung open to reveal Ryan. Arthur took his first good look at the man. He was dark, like Cassie, but with deep brown eyes and thick, wavy black hair, where her eyes and hair were touched by sunshine. The woman in question, leaned down around Ryan on the stairs. She muttered something and put her hand on his shoulder to move past him. Arthur didn't miss that gesture either.

But she smiled as she approached him, "What're you doing up here?" she asked, seeming pleased by his presence.

"I wanted to make sure your friend was alright," he told her, his voice quiet, hoping it wouldn't carry to Ryan. He didn't trust the other man yet, though Cassie so obviously did.

Her smile widened and she shook her head, "You know you don't have to lie about when you come to check on me," she teased, her voice equally as quiet, "But I'm glad you're here, because there is someone I want you to meet," she took his hand and the glare Ryan had fixed him with intensified.

"Arthur, this is Sir Ryan Reyes, knight of Puerto Rico, and one of my oldest and dearest friends," she sounded pained as she spoke the words. He looked like he was struggling not to change his expression. The tension was palpable. "Ryan, this is Prince Arthur of Camelot, someone very important to me," she introduced him, emphasizing his title. Probably to warn the man to give the prince respect. He wished she wouldn't. He wanted Ryan, like he wanted all his men, to respect him for his own virtues, not just who his father was.

"Sir," Ryan bowed awkwardly, as if he was unused to it. Though from the way Cassie behaved about bowing, maybe it was a more lax policy in Puerto Rico.

He could see how important it was to his princess that they get along, or at least interact amiably, so he swallowed his pride and held out his hand for the man to shake. Ryan gave him a hard look before extending his hand to take the prince's.

The small woman between them positively beamed. Then she whirled around, her skirts flying around her legs, hitting his. She approached the redhead sitting at Gaius' table, "I'm told you're Danielle, that you have experience as a ladies maid and you're looking for work?" she asked.

"Yes my lady," the woman nodded, standing again to curtsey.

"Excellent, I happen to still be without a ladies maid, not for the prince's lack of trying, but as you have done me such a great service in returning Ryan to me, I am prepared to make an exception," she smiled, then added, "And we can find someone to look after you while Danielle works," she addressed the child.

"Thank you my lady," the woman curtseyed again.

"First lesson," the shorter woman told her, "I am not your lady, I'm Cassie."

Arthur had to stop himself from laughing at the shocked expression on Danielle's face. He decided to save her, "Sir Ryan, please, allow me to show you to the rooms where you will be staying for the duration of your visit. Camelot is happy to have you," he dipped his head, using his best politician voice. "Merlin, please find Danielle a servants room, and ensure that there is an extra bed for… what's your name?" he asked the little girl kindly.

The child beamed, "Leanne your highness," she dipped her head and he grinned.

"Merlin, ensure our finest bed for Lady Leanne," he winked at the girl, and noted the grateful look her care taker gave him.

"Yes Sire," the servant agreed, "Right this way my lady if you will," he opened the door for the woman and child, the latter of whom giggled uncontrollably down the hall.

Arthur followed after a moment, leading Ryan and Cassie, who looked stressed and tired. Maybe Ryan's appearance was not as welcome as he thought. Both because he wanted to keep Ryan comfortable, and because he wanted to keep the knight far from him and Cassie, he placed him in a room far from theirs.

"I'll come by and grab you for dinner. And I'll have clothes sent over," the princess looked her knight up and down, "You look like a New Yorker," the smallest of smiles crossing her face. Ryan rolled his eyes, his own smile twisting his mouth as he tried to hide it.

"Thank you, your highness," he looked between the two before stepping inside his room and closing his door.

Turning to face him, Cassie let out a groan and leaned forward until her head was resting on his shoulder. He brought his arms up around her, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded against him, "I'll be okay," she said, "just it's been a lot," her voice choked and he pulled her tighter into his chest. After a moment she pulled away, "I'm fine," she insisted, blinking the tears out of her eyes. He hated that he couldn't help her, but she was pushing him away, and he knew that if he pushed back, she would just retreat from him further. So he settled for taking her hand and letting her walk him back towards the throne room.

 **XXX**

Danielle was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. Leanne had no such issues. She had passed out almost as soon as they got to the room, sprawled on the bed. Hers was child sized, and cute, but comfortable all the same. Danielle hadn't even tested hers out, she needed space to think, to find Ryan and ask him how the hell he knew the princess, and why they were referring to him as a knight. Some small part of her brain reminded her that his claims of being from the future, losing a friend and the rumors of Princess Cassandra's mysterious appearance and place of origin all fit together nicely. But she ignored that part of her brain.

Though she was used to castles –the castle of Moria had been large indeed- Camelot was massive, and very beautiful. The white stone walls reflected the bright autumn sun that came in through the windows to warm the castle. There were sets of stairs everywhere, with no rhyme or reason, a spiral staircase in the middle of a hallway, leading up to a mezzanine that led to a hall with another small set of stairs that led to the next floor. The corridors were wide and gave her plenty of room to skirt around servants who rushed through them laden with baskets of laundry or trays of food. It appeared Camelot was a very busy place.

After maybe a half hour of wandering the twisting halls and stairs, she was well and truly lost. Her mind was racing with the events of the last few days and her confusion over her situation. Princess Cassandra was strange, and she had obviously very much hurt Ryan. Danielle suspected she wasn't royalty at all, and resented being ordered around by the woman, even if it was just to call her Cassie, rather than Lady Cassandra. Though she assumed the woman's relationship with the prince was enough to warrant her a servant, real royalty or not. She wondered if Cassandra was the prince's mistress. Immediately, she shook the thought from her head, the strange woman would not be allowed at court meetings if that were true. She was probably exactly what she claimed to be, a guest of King Uther's in Camelot. And he obviously believed her to be a princess, so Danielle assumed she was to treat the woman as such.

Her annoyance at her uncertainty and her inability to find her way back to her room, did not leave Dani's brain much room for looking where she was going. So it was no surprise when she slammed into someone coming around a corner.

Immediately, remembering the last time she slammed into someone in a similar castle hallway, she raised a hand to protect her face and drew away quickly.

"Whoa, I'm sorry, miss," a gruff voice lilted with laughter spoke next to her, a hand coming to grip her elbow gently, steadying her. She looked up. The owner of the voice had laughter in every line of his face and shining out of his brown eyes despite the fact that his smile was small and unsure. Her reaction was not really warranted, and she understood the source of his uncertainty.

"It is I who should apologize," she dipped her head, her own lips twitching slightly up at the corners. She couldn't help it, his smile was contagious.

"Never," he grinned and her smile dropped. He was flirting with her. He had a handsome face, but Danielle found herself annoyed at his teasing. He had just met her and already he wasn't going to take her seriously.

So she made her face carefully blank, "Pardon me, I must be getting back," her answer was purposefully vague so he would not follow her.

He actually _pouted_ at her. And it was _really_ attractive. "And leave me to find my way out of the castle alone?" he asked, pretending her words wounded him. It was then that she noticed the bag slung over one shoulder.

"Are you leaving Camelot?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her self-control.

The smile that spread across his face at her interest was sly and self-satisfied, "For a time. I'll go where the wind takes me. I can't stay in one place for too long," somehow as he spoke he had gotten into her personal space, "But the right woman could convince me to stay, for at least a night longer," his grin was too amused to be actually offended at his words.

But she was anyway. "Well, far be it for me to keep you from the wind or the right woman," she ducked down the hallway he'd just come from, hoping to lose him, but no such luck.

The man followed her, "Well would you at least tell me your name, so I know who I'll be missing while I'm gone?" he asked, laying the charm on thick.

She simply raised her eyebrows at him and sped up.

"Shall I guess then?" he asked, pausing for a response she did not give, "Hm, probably something fit for a princess, Sophia, Elena," he paused again, before his face lit up and his grin widened, "Esmerelda," he spoke the name as if he was certain of it, and couldn't believe he hadn't yet guessed it.

"It's Danielle," she snapped, turning down another corridor. Soon she and this man were going to be hopelessly lost. She glanced out a window and realized that it was getting late. The maybe princess would probably need her help getting ready for dining with Ryan and the King, but the girl figured that she had gone this long without a maid, she could go another night.

"Ah, of course. It suits you," his voice was layered with less of the bravado and flirtation than it had been and she thought it was the most sincere he had been in their entire conversation.

"Thank you," she held her head high and continued walking. He followed, undeterred by her cold demeanor and fast pace. She turned another corner and they found themselves in front of the doors to the main courtyard of the castle.

"I'm Gwaine," he informed her.

Tilting her head she gave him a half smile, "It suits you. Until next time Gwaine," she was about to turn away when he took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. She was fairly sure her blush took up most of her body.

"I will think of you every moment until I again set eyes on you," he was still grinning as he spoke the over-dramatic words, nearly laughing as he said them.

She shook her head, "Farewell, Sir Gwaine," she joked back. And with a flourish, he walked towards the door. She watched him thinking there might be quite a few moments she thought of him until she saw him again.

He had just made it to the doorway when a scream echoed out of the courtyard, and everything went to hell.

 **XXX**

Merlin had been jumpy and nervous all day. Between Cassie's friend's appearance, and Arthur's stress and the nagging voice of the great dragon in his head, demanding to be released. It had been a month or so since the dragon granted his favor, and it had been incessant in its demands ever since. It was making Merlin crazy. And as if dealing with a disembodied voice in his head wasn't enough, now he was watching Cassie pace in front of her bed, ranting in her language while Arthur sat at her table, looking terrified.

Finally the tiny woman must have exhausted herself, she flopped backwards onto her bed, her skirt and the bedcovers puffing up around her before settling. "I just don't know who he is anymore," her voice was small, and thankfully in English.

Surprisingly, the prince turned to Merlin, the helpless look on his face, indicating that he knew his servant understood the princess better, and might be able to find the words she needed. With a roll of his eyes, the dark haired man went to the bed and flopped next to her. She turned her face to him, her hazel eyes wide and uncertain, but a smile playing at one corner of her mouth.

"You know, he probably feels the same," he pointed out in a whisper.

Cassie's eyes narrowed, considering him and his suggestion. "Am I that different?" she asked, also in a whisper.

He nodded, then reading her expression, added, "In a good way." She laughed and he smiled. But he was right. She had changed. She was happier, and she'd grown up, they all had, even Arthur, though he'd never say so. The Prince had a big enough ego already.

Sliding off the bed, the princess brushed out her skirt and turned a smile on the prince. "Sorry," she looked between the two of them, "I needed to get that over with," she admitted. He watched as she crossed the room, resting her hands on Arthur's shoulders and leaning over the back of his chair to kiss his head. They were like something out of a fairy tale, the pale, blonde prince and his beautiful tan princess.

A knock on the door had Merlin jumping off the bed and hurrying to answer it, but Cassie beat him to it. Morgana launched herself through it, enveloping the smaller woman in a hug. Gwen trailed behind her, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you alright? I've been trying to find you all day to ask. Who was that?" Morgana asked, letting go.

Cassie sighed and Gwen reached forward to touch her shoulder in a show of support. It earned the serving girl a smile, "Ryan is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Our parents are friends, we grew up together," she explained, all honestly. Then her face twisted slightly, "He is a knight, one charged with protecting me. But it has been a long time since I saw him, and I thought I would never see him again," she pressed her lips together when finished talking.

"Well, then it must be wonderful to see him again!" Morgana smiled and moved past the princess to sit at the table with Arthur, engaging him about a new saddle for her new horse. But Gwen could sense more was going on with Cassie and her friend.

"I'm sure it will work itself out. You seem to have been close, and I know that bond cannot be broken," she whispered with a small smile. The princess nodded to thank her, and the girl continued, "The king is waiting to dine with you all, we should go now," her voice was louder this time.

The royals filed out of Cassie's room behind Gwen and Merlin feigned a trip to the kitchens to check on dinner so he could finally go see what the great dragon was asking of him this time. Though, he feared he already knew.

"What?" the man demanded, glaring up at the creature in front of him when he made it to the bottom of the stairs in the obscure corners of the dungeons.

The dragon regarded him with narrowed eyes and shook its large head, "You know what I wish, Merlin. I wish for you to keep your promise," its voice was dangerous.

Merlin pressed his lips together in frustration, unable to come up with a good excuse, but reluctant to free the beast. They stared at each other in a long stalemate, but eventually he gave up, "Fine. How do I free you?" he asked.

The creature smiled, or at least the closest approximation of a smile the warlock had ever seen on its face. "You must retrieve a very special sword for me," it began. Which was how Merlin ended up creeping through the vaults of Camelot, looking for one sword among the thousands of artifacts locked away.

A lone guard stood watch over the entrance to the vaults, apparently bored out of his mind, staring into space. There was a stool next to him, for him to sit on when he was tired of standing, and after considering a moment, the warlock murmured an incantation and the stool tipped over. The guard started, and looked around. With another incantation the stool began to roll away from him, down one of the dark halls between the gates of the vaults.

When the guard was far enough away, Merlin darted down the hall he guessed the sword would be down. He thought he vaguely recognized the weapon the dragon had described. A heavy sword with a hilt carved like a dragon. It was a very special sword, and only those who possessed magic could wield it. Using his practiced magic, he unlocked one of the gates, stepping into the space, looking around through the assortment of magical and non magical items that kings of Camelot for ages had collected.

He wandered through the aisles and piles of artifacts, his eyes searching for the sword. It took him a few tries, picking up the wrong swords, or becoming distracted by anything else with a dragon on it, but in the third room of the vaults he found it, leaned, point down, against a large wooden chest with intricate engravings across the top. He hefted the large weapon in his hand. It was certainly too large a sword for someone of his size, probably more suited to a larger man like Arthur or Sir Leon. He tucked the thing into his belt and hurried back down the hall, and up the stairs out of the vaults, back into the deepest corner of the dungeon.

"This?" he asked holding it up.

The beast nodded, "You must enchant it, and break my chains," it commanded.

"How?" the man asked. He was so nervous about what would happen when the dragon was let loose that his hands were shaking and sweating around the hilt of the sword, making it hard for him to hold it. He watched as the creature's eyes lit up gold and suddenly he knew exactly the incantation to enchant the sword to release it.

With a surge of confidence, he spoke the words, his own eyes glowing gold as he raised the sword, suddenly light in his hands, and swung it down upon the chain. The thick metal snapped with a brittle sound and the dragon roared its freedom, taking off into the cave.

Merlin dropped the sword, and it landed with a clang on the stone. When that echo faded, the only sound he could hear was the faint flapping of the dragon's wings, fading slowly. After a moment, he snapped out of his thoughts and rushed back up the stairs to the hall where Arthur and Cassie and Morgana and Ryan were having dinner with the King.

Both Gwen and Arthur gave him dirty looks at his arrival, but quickly focused on the tension between Cassie and Ryan and the King. It was tense, but normal. Just average Camelot weirdness. For a few minutes he thought he'd gotten away with it. That the dragon would go away, far away and never bother anyone. Then they heard the scream from the courtyard.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: I would love some feedback! Real plot starts in the next chapter and it is quite the roller coaster from there.**


	9. Chapter 9: Shaking Hands

**A/N: Updating before work because I love you all.**

 **So I have the rest of this fic and the next two/three more or less planned. My muse wont leave it alone. So this chapter begins the point where the fic includes some of the things that actually happened in the show. They will all happen differently, and it's not going to be a rewrite from here on out either, but certain events from the show will take place to set up for what happens next. Bear with me and enjoy!**

 **XXX**

Dinner was, needless to say, a total disaster. Ryan was quiet, answering the king's questions in short, clipped phrases that indicated a disrespect both he and Cassie couldn't afford. Both Arthur and Morgana tried valiantly to change the subject, pull thing kings attention onto them. The prince gave his father a detailed run down of the new training style he was using with the knights. Morgana kept up a steady stream of chatter about dresses of all things, though Cassie noticed that, of anyone, Ryan paid attention to her the most. Probably because Morgana was the only one who hadn't directly offended him.

Poor Gwen was working overtime to serve the five of them. Merlin had disappeared and though she could tell his absence bothered the prince, she could also tell that it wasn't his first concern. He sat on the king's right, next to Ryan and diagonal from Cassie in her seat to Morgana's left. The king sat at the head of the table, looking over the four. Cassie was incredibly uncomfortable.

Ryan send her dirty looks from across the table each time he thought the king wasn't looking, and then Morgana kicked him to tell him the king was looking, her heel coming loudly into contact with his shin, which Arthur tried to cover with a cough and Merlin's late and loud arrival was a momentarily welcome distraction.

After a few minutes more of the king asking Ryan how he got to Camelot, and the fake knight parroting back Cassie's exact words of explanation for his presence, "I am here to keep the princess safe," his tone on the word princess was one of such disdain that the princess in question felt tears prick the back of her eyes. What had happened to the Ryan she knew? To the man who held her when she was upset or who talked her into playing stupid I-Spy games when the tour bus rides were boring? To her best friend?

She was just thinking how things could not possibly get any worse when Leon burst into the room, sweating and out of breath. Cassie could have kissed him. Then he opened his mouth, "Sire, Camelot is under attack," he paused, breathing hard, "by the last dragon," he added. Everyone was silent and shocked.

"Dragons?" Ryan asked, looking at Cassie with a face that pleaded her to tell him they were all kidding. He had no such luck.

Everyone was up and moving instantly. Arthur convening with Leon, the king calling on his guards. Morgana called on Gwen to help her prepare the banquet hall to treat the injured. Cassie was unsure of what to do. She itched to follow Arthur and help the guards and knights get people into the castle, off the streets and out of the houses of the lower town, all of which were highly flammable. But there was Ryan for her to think of.

"Sir Ryan, come with me, we need a knight to help us bring in the injured," Morgana instructed and Cassie sent her a silent thanks as her friend glared at her, but got up to follow the dark haired beauty and her maid. So she ran after Arthur and Leon, cursing her skirts and missing her jeans.

The prince groaned when she joined him in the armory with the other knights, grabbing a sword belt to wrap around her waist, "Cassandra, you can't go out there," he told her, a hand going over her hip where she was about to buckle the belt.

The stubborn brunette fixed him with a glare, "I can and I will. I have to help clear the lower town and get people to safety. I can help get water to put out fires!"

He couldn't argue with her logic but he was worried about her, especially with a dragon on the loose. "Stay close," he bit out and rallied his knights, "Merlin, keep an eye on the princess," he told his friend as they filtered out of the armory and down the corridor to the castle exit.

The knights of Camelot functioned like a well-oiled machine, or a supercomputer. They split off, each going where they were most needed, leading soldiers and grouping to launch an offensive on the dragon. Cassie and Merlin kept to the edges of the courtyard, watching as the shadow of the dragon passed over the courtyard again and again. The marketplace and lower town were already on fire, and she hauled buckets out of the well as quickly as she could to pass to guards and other citizens who ran to go help put out fires.

Occasionally, she spied Ryan, helping a soldier carry a wounded comrade inside, and Arthur, leading his knights in spear throwing that had no effect on the massive beast. And then there was Merlin himself, angry and terrified beside her, handing out buckets of water to everyone who came for one.

"What happened?" she asked him, hooking another bucket onto the pulley and lowering it into the well.

Wiping his forehead with the scarf that usually resided around his neck, he sighed, his eyes wide and tearful, "I did this. I promised I would free it, and now that I did, it's going to destroy Camelot and it will be all my fault."

She wanted to stop and hug him to tell him that it was okay, but it wasn't okay, and she had to keep helping. So instead, she bumped him with her hip, "Merlin. You simply granted the dragon its freedom. Something that should have been done by Uther a long time ago. It's not your fault that it decided to use its freedom to attack Camelot. Now I don't know about you, but I have a lot of faith in Arthur, and I think we can trust him to find a solution to this. And you know what, you're a wizard! You have magic. You might be able to help too," she smiled at the look of realization that went across his face.

"I'll be back," he promised and ran off, leaving her to haul water on her own. She got another bucket up when Ryan approached her.

"Cassie! You have to get out of here. This is insanity!" he shouted.

She rounded on him, "Ryan, you can go hide in the castle like a child, but I am going to stay out here and help them. These are my people now. I might one day be their queen, and I have to stay and help them, now either you can join me, or go help Gaius, but I don't want to hear about how we need to leave," she snapped, handing the water bucket to the nearest guard.

The two stood staring at each other, all their fury in their relationship coming to a head in between them. Then Cassie saw it, the massive dragon, swooping into the courtyard behind Ryan, at the same second she heard Arthur shout her name.

"Get down!" she shouted to Ryan and he did, turning to watch the dragon fly over him, talons scratching at where he had just been standing. When he looked up again, Cassie had taken off across the courtyard, running for the prince who was trying to get one of the knights up and back towards the castle when the creature doubled back, heading for Arthur and the knight he was hanging on to.

She wasn't sure she'd reach him, but she sprinted for him, her skirt blowing out behind her and her sword bumping her hip hard enough to leave a bruise in the morning. She could feel the wind from the beating wings of the dragon above her head. "Arthur!" she shouted, he looked up, but not soon enough, and the dragon's claw swooped down just as she slammed into him, catching her back and part of his shoulder where she wasn't tall enough to block him.

Pain screamed through her back as she and the prince fell to the ground. He immediately sat up, pulling her into him and checking for injuries that were certainly there.

"Cassandra," his voice was full of emotion and adrenaline. He immediately helped her off the ground, and she leaned heavily on him. Her back fucking hurt. She watched as Ryan joined them and felt Arthur lift her into his arms. Her best friend gave her boyfriend a dirty look, but stooped to help the injured knight up and into the castle behind them.

"If it fucked up my tattoo," she found herself saying aloud as the prince sat her on one of the flat surfaces in the hall amongst the other wounded.

Ryan helped the knight onto the table next to her and chuckled at her complaint, "You know that one on your back was always crooked anyway," he reminded her, his joke falling only a bit flat.

But she glared at him with all the good nature she could muster in the face of the pain in her back or the vice grip Arthur had on her hand. "Arthur," her words brought his attention to her face from the bloody gashes in the back of her dress, "When I feel better, remind me to punch Ryan," she requested and he smiled slightly.

"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that," he whispered to her.

She made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat that died quickly once she realized how painful it was, "I wasn't about to let anything happen to you," she forced a grin. He kissed her hard, only pulling away when Gaius cleared his throat in front of them. With a quick goodbye and a promise to stay safe, he left her in the qualified hands of his physician.

Gaius tended to the gashes in her back and thankfully, gave her a potion to knock her out. Just before her mind faded into blackness and sleep, she recognized the shock of bright gold-red hair next to her and the pair of long, cool fingers, resting over her forehead.

At the sound of the scream, Danielle and Gwaine took off in different directions, the man heading towards the kitchens and the armory and the servant back towards her quarters where her sister slept.

They had seen the source of the scream, everyone in the courtyard had, they had seen the massive beast that flew over the castle, its giant wings blocking out the light of the moon and casting its shadow on the cobblestones of the courtyard. Danielle had believed dragons to be extinct. But here, now, there was a very real dragon over the castle, and all she could think to do was find and protect Leanne.

She raced through the halls, down to where she remembered the boy Merlin showing her the servants quarters. Bursting through the door, she was immediately attacked by her little sister.

"Dani!" the little girl cried and wrapped her arms around her sister's legs.

"Lee," she leaned down to haul her sister into her arms. She wanted to pull the child under the bed and hide until it was safe. But the castle was under attack. She was worried about Ryan, she hoped he was okay, felt like she owed him something for helping her and Leanne. So she made her decision, "Come on sweetheart, we have to go help," she shifted the child to her hip and hurried down the hall.

"Where's Ryan?" Leanne's face was buried in her sister's shoulder, but she heard the question anyway.

"I don't know, we're going to find him," she promised. The halls were teeming with servants and soldiers, rushing to help. Most of the traffic seemed to be towards the banquet hall, so she followed, balancing the girl while maneuvering them between other servants. Inside the hall, people were scattered about, ripping strips of cloth for bandages, moving tables to serve as stretchers. She spotted Gaius, the old man who had sat with her earlier and given her tea. He had shown Leanne how to use a mortar and pestle to help him make a potion for the king. Danielle had been hoping the physician would take Leanne as his apprentice.

He saw her and waved her over, "Danielle," he called, "The castle is under attack. Leanne, can you help me make bandages?" he asked the little girl whose face was still buried in her sister's neck. She nodded and allowed herself to be sat on the table nearest Gaius which was filled with white cloth. Danielle waited patiently as he showed her how to fold the bandages.

When the child had the hang of it, he turned to her sister, "Do you know how to tend wounds?" he asked. She nodded, "Good, I fear we will have many," his tone was grave and she could feel the panicked energy in the air.

The first injured civilian came in quickly. Danielle did her best to block Leanne from seeing them, but soon was too busy to try. She spotted Ryan across the room a few times carrying in the wounded under the direction of the lady Morgana's servant. She saw Gwaine come in once or twice too, a sword still in his hand and a knight on his arm to drop off the man for one of the servants to tend to his injuries.

She was so busy that she barely noticed the prince come in shouting for Gaius, for help. When she turned, she saw Arthur carrying the princess, her mistress, who was bleeding all over his armor.

"Damn it," she swore, hurrying across the room, to the princess's side as her prince left, back to fight his battle. Ryan stayed. "Is she alright?" she asked. She watched as Gaius gave her a potion that she swallowed with a wince, swaying as she sat up on the table. Danielle went to her, a hand on her ribs as she helped lower the woman to the table. She may not have been a princess in real life, but she was certainly important in Camelot, Gaius was going to do his best to help her.

Her servant stayed with the princess, cleaning her wounds and wondering at the words in a strange language, inked into her back, marred by the gashes through it. They weren't too terribly deep, but at least one of them would definitely scar. Ryan fetched Leanne for her and sat the child next to her to help her rip bandages for his friend. Danielle added the healing salve to the bandages her sister passed her and applied them to the princess's back. Gwaine carried Arthur in a few minutes later, insisting someone tend to his wounds.

It was a long night, and only once dawn shone over the horizon did they get any relief. The dragon disappeared, and though everyone hoped it was for good, they feared the worst. She helped move Cassandra up to her chambers, armed with a large bottle of the potion used to knock her unconscious. The first time she woke up in her own bed explained exactly why that was.

Cassandra sat up quickly and groaned at the pain it caused her, "Why am I here, what happened? Is Arthur alright? Ryan? Merlin? Leon?" she asked all in the same breath.

Leanne who was reading quietly at the table looked up, as did Danielle, who sat with her sister. The older sister rose and went to Cassandra's bedside, "Here drink this, they're all alright," she handed the princess the bottle. The brunette took it but didn't drink.

"What's going on with the dragon? Is it gone? Or is it coming back?" she asked, looking around, "Will you please find Arthur or even better, Merlin? I need to speak with them," she insisted, her voice becoming more panicked.

Very used to dealing with dramatic and hysterical royalty from her old position, Dani made soothing noises and took the woman's hand, "Shh, it's alright. Arthur and his servant are alright. Gaius says you must rest, drink, please," she pushed.

But the princess ignored her, moving to push back the covers and hissing in pain, but continuing through it anyway. Danielle felt a vague respect for the woman pushing at the annoyance she mostly felt towards her. "My lady," she bit out, stopping her, "Gaius instructed me to have you drink this when you wake up. You respect Gaius' instructions, do you not?" she asked, her tone sharp.

For the first time that morning Cassandra focused her eyes on her new servant. Despite the pain she must have been in and the confusion left over from the sleeping draft, her eyes seemed to pierce through Danielle. "Look, I do respect Gaius, immensely, but I just woke up injured and confused and to be honest, I don't know you. I want to speak to Arthur and Merlin. I want to know what's going on and how long I've been out. I need to see if they're okay," her voice wavered on the last few words but her eyes remained steady.

The servant sighed, and glared at her charge, "Sweetheart, watch the princess, make sure she doesn't attempt to get out of bed," though she spoke to her sister, her eyes were fixed on the woman in front of her, maintaining her glare.

"Okay," the child answered. With one last glare, Danielle rose and stalked out of the room, leaving Cassie with a six year old in charge of her.

Cassie had never been great with kids. She loved Ryan's sisters, but that was because they were family. With other children she just never knew what to do with them. They were cute and all, but sort of terrifying. So when the little girl at the table turned to look at her, she fidgeted, uncomfortably.

"Are you really a princess?" the child asked, hopping down from her chair, sliding her book off the table to clutch as she walked towards the woman's bed.

She made a face, "Yeah, I am, why would you think I'm not?" she asked, a bit suspicious.

The girl shrugged, "Ryan says you're his friend. But I don't think Ryan is a real knight. He dresses funny, not like the knights here in Camelot, or the knights in Moria. That's where we used to live you know. Untill Dani made us leave. I wish Ethan had come with us." She fell silent, sadness in her small face.

Cassie sighed, "In our kingdom, everyone dresses like that. When I showed up at Camelot, I was wearing pants," she told the little blonde whose eyes went wide, "Who's Ethan?" she asked. The look on the little girl's face became sad. She hopped up onto the bed, awkwardly squirming to settle in.

"Ethan is my sister's best friend. He is back in Moria," she informed the princess.

"Oh," Cassie nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the girl playing with the beading on the thick gold blanket on her bed. "What's your name?" she asked the child. She figured that if this kid would be hanging around, she might as well know her name.

"Leanne," the little girl told her, "But Ryan and Dani call me Lee," she added.

"You know Ryan has little sisters about your age," she told Leanne, "Ximena is seven, she's his youngest sister, how old are you?" she asked.

"Ximena," the child tried the strange name in her mouth, "I'm six," she grinned, revealing a missing tooth on the top left side of her mouth.

She smiled, "Wow, look at you," she didn't know what else to say, so they lapsed into silence. They were saved by Danielle's return, the prince almost shoving past her in his hurry to see Cassie. Merlin trailed behind the two.

"Lee," the serving girls voice was sharp and the child hopped off the bed and scurried to her sister, as Arthur took her place on the bed. He put his hand, gently to the back of her head and pulled her to him to kiss her. She could hear Danielle usher Leanne out of her room.

"How are you feeling?" the blonde man asked, his blue eyes wide with worry. He was dressed for riding and it made her nervous.

Raising her hands to his shoulders she felt his wince as her fingers brushed the bandage under his shirt. "You're hurt," she tugged at his shirt, ignoring the pain in her own back.

He batted her hands away, but not before she saw the bandage over his shoulder, slightly bloodied. "It's nothing," he promised, his fingers lacing with hers.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "What aren't you telling me?" she asked.

Exchanging a guilty look with Merlin, the prince pursed his lips before answering, "Merlin and I are riding out in search of the last dragon lord," he admitted and her eyes flashed to his servant, who looked far more nervous than simply finding a sorcerer entailed.

"Okay, I'll come with you, I feel much better, I'm fine-" he stopped her as she tried to push back the covers, his hands on her legs, stilling them.

"No, we must go alone. You must rest, heal. We will return soon, and this dragon will be gone," he promised. He kissed her one last time and got up, his hands sipping out of hers, and walked out of the room.

"Merlin," she called before his servant could follow him, "There's something else. Who is this dragon lord?" she asked.

The warlock looked torn, but he came to sit with her, "His name is Balinor," he paused, and she waited, knowing he would tell her whatever was really bothering him, "He's my father."

Cassie felt her jaw drop open. She shut it quickly, "How do you know? I thought you told me you never met your father?" she asked.

"I haven't, Gaius told me. I can't believe he kept it from me," he admitted, "He said my mother told him to keep it from me, but how could he?" it was clear the boy was torn.

She put a hand on his shoulder, "Merlin," she said, "Gaius was respecting your mother's wishes. If she didn't want you to know about your father then there is probably a good reason," she paused, "Heal me, I know you can, please, so I can come with you," she pleaded.

Before she even finished speaking, he shook his head, "I can't, Arthur would suspect. And he is in Cenred's lands, it's not-" she knew what he was about to say.

"I swear to god, if you tell me its not safe I might just punch you," she cut him off.

"It isn't! Stay here, heal, when we return, you can even meet my father, and he can help us save Camelot," he sounded so optimistic, that she couldn't argue.

"Be safe, and look out for Arthur," she patted his shoulder.

He placed his hand over hers, squeezing it, then letting go and standing up, "You should take that potion Gaius gave you. It'll help," he told her.

Rolling her eyes, she nodded, "Yeah, yeah, get out of here before he leaves without you," she shooed him out the door, a smile on her face to hide the fear she felt for them. She drank the potion and fell asleep slowly.

When she woke, it was to voices, quiet, over at her table. One was that of the small child who had sat with her earlier. The other was Ryan's. She opened her eyes to see Ryan sitting with Leanne at the table, as she pointed to things in her book. Danielle sat across from them, smiling absently at the two.

"Ryan?" Cassie mumbled, still foggy from the potion and unsure if he really was there. It was dark in the room now, lit only by candles, and she assumed she'd slept all day.

Though her words had been quiet, he heard her and turned, flashing her a tight smile before getting up and joining her. "How you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I got hit by a truck," she groaned, glad that someone would finally understand her reference. She had missed Ryan and the 21st century.

He laughed, "Well you got hit by a dragon, I think that's worse," he said, though his voice was stressed.

Realizing that the dragon was still on the loose, she sat up abruptly, "The dragon, what happened? Did Arthur and Merlin find the dragon lord?" she asked, realizing that the pain in her back had faded greatly, "How long was I out?" she asked.

"They came back, but the last dragon lord was dead. Merlin came in and did something to your back," Ryan lowered his voice so the other two couldn't hear, "He's _the_ Merlin right? Cause I'm pretty sure it was magic," he whispered.

Cassie nodded, "Yeah, he is," she whispered back before focusing on the first part of what he said, "Wait, so what happened with the dragon?" she asked.

He exchanged a look with Danielle and she became more nervous, "They're going to fight it on their own terms. Somewhere outside the castle," he barely finished speaking before she was up, tearing across the room to pull on her jeans out of her closet, yank off her nightgown, to a gasp from Danielle, and pulled on a shirt, and her combat boots. She snagged a sword from the table by the window and bolted for the door, "Where are you going?" Ryan asked, grabbing her arm.

She glared at him, "I'm not going to let him fight alone," she snapped and turned for the door.

"He's already left!" Ryan called after her.

Cassie ignored him, running down the hall and the stairs, out into the courtyard, to see Gaius, walking briskly towards the gates. She looked towards them to see Merlin and Arthur walking back through together, triumphant grins on their faces. She dropped her sword and broke into a run, slamming into Arthur almost before he noticed her.

"Don't you ever leave me behind again," she whispered fiercely in his ear as his arms went around her.

He looked down, and she met his eyes, "Never" he promised.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: Would absolutely love to hear what people think! I've gotten some new favorites and followers in the last few days and you're all fabulous thank you for being here and I love you! Let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10: Into Place

**A/N: Its actually pretty crazy how much writing I've been getting done since I'm working so much. But this story seriously won't let me put it down. This chapter is a fun one, enjoy!**

 **XXX**

The castle was silent and dark, the torches mostly out and the guards sparse in this deep part of the vaults. Only one was on duty at the entrance, and he found himself dozing off. He had a newborn at home, and between his irritable wife and the baby, he wasn't getting much sleep. The silence of the vaults was a welcome respite from home. His eyes drifted closed, for just a few moments, but long enough to miss the slim man who stole through the halls of the vaults. He sought treasure, something to sell to feed his family.

He ducked into a hall, and reached through the bars of the vaults, grabbing only what he could reach, and stuffing it into a small satchel he had brought. His fingers closed around a ring, and a string of pearls. The pearls had belonged to the late queen, so he shoved them into the bag, but the ring caught his attention.

Holding it up, he watched as the shiny blue stone reflected the light before flashing gold briefly. The thief assumed it was just a trick of the light, but pocketed the ring, planning to give it to his wife. It matched her eyes.

He grabbed another two fistfuls of gold and silently made his way out of the vaults, passing the guard who had entirely fallen asleep.

When he returned home, he presented his wife with the ring, hiding his bag under their bed. He told her he'd won it gambling. She seemed skeptical but slid it onto her finger.

Her screams echoed through the night, and by morning she was dead.

As usual, Merlin was tired, stressed and overworked. Today the main difference was that he was also sunburned. This was the fault of the prince who spent his day forcing his servant to train because Cassie was spending the day fighting with Ryan.

Arthur forced him to spend the entire day outside while he took his frustration out on his knights. By the time Merlin made it back up to Gaius' chambers, he had a stripe of red across each of his cheeks and his entire nose was the color of a tomato. He hoped for some of the physicians salve, made from some plant that only grew to the south, but soothed the burning sensation in his skin.

Instead he found Gaius leaning over a corpse on his table. The woman looked young, and a distraught man stood by her side, obviously her husband.

"It seems she died of a heart attack, though she is young, and I do not remember treating her for heart trouble," he seemed confused by her condition.

"Sir, she was terrified, screaming and screaming until her heart stopped," her husband was clearly traumatized.

The physician nodded and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. Merlin stood just inside the door, watching the scene unfold.

"I will look into her symptoms and see what else I can find. I will give you a moment with her, "Merlin," he called the young man over.

Merlin joined him at a table closer to the back, by the small stairs and door to his room. Gaius began sorting through bottles, to find the salve for Merlin's sunburn. The young man watched as the man leaned over his wife, taking her hand. A beautiful ring with a blue stone in it sat on her finger. The jewelry was far too opulent for a woman of her standing. He narrowed his eyes then widened them in shock as he saw the stone flash gold in the late afternoon sunlight coming in through the window.

He watched as the man slipped the ring off her finger, and pocketed it, then slowly left the room. Gaius frowned after him.

"What happened to her?" Merlin asked of the woman on the table .

The physician sighed and turned to him with the salve in his hand, "She seems to have died of heart failure. But she was young and healthy. Her husband claims she was terrified of something, as if she literally died of fright," he seemed confused.

It was certainly troubling, "Gaius, I saw the ring she had on, the one her husband took, the stone changed color. It turned from blue to gold. It looked like magic," he told the man.

Gaius' eyebrows furrowed, "Are you sure?" he asked, capping the salve and placing it back on the shelf.

"I saw it with my own eyes, I'm positive Gaius," the younger man promised.

The physician nodded, "Then we must look into this," he made his way over to one of the many bookcases and began to pull down books. He handed half the stack to Merlin, "Get reading, there is no telling what this jewel may be, but it certainly could be dangerous."

With a sigh, the young warlock sat down and began paging through the books.

The merchant who bought the jewel off the grieving man felt sympathy for the poor heartbroken thief, but didn't think much of him after he added the ring to his collection to sell at the market.

The next morning, a young lord and his lady came through the market, on their way to pay their respects to the king. He noted the ring, sitting amongst the other jewelry the merchant sold. He picked it up, holding it up to his wife's face, "It perfectly matches your eyes, do you like it?" he asked. She nodded, a wide smile gracing her pretty face. "Then it is yours," he handed the merchant a few gold coins and slid the ring onto the finger of his young bride. She smiled, and took his arm. They continued through the town.

Suddenly she clutched his arm, her hands gripping his sleeve too tightly. "Are you alright my love?" he asked, looking down at her. Her eyes were fixed on a point ahead of them, but there was nothing there. She shook her head, "What is it?" he asked, confusion on his face and in his voice.

"Th-there, don't you see it?" she asked, her voice shaking.

He looked, "No, what is it?" he asked, turning back to her.

Instead of answering, she stumbled back, bumping into people as she went, and scrambling away from whatever she thought she was seeing. Then she screamed, her eyes unfocused and her hands clutching her upper arms. Her screams echoed through the street, her breathing heavy, gasping. She fell, crumpling to the ground, tearing at her chest, her eyes wide and unfocused, still screaming. Her husband came to her side, shaking her, trying to snap her out of whatever trance she as in. Suddenly she clutched at her chest, right over her heart her screams cutting off into wet, guttural gasps. She gave one last shuddering breath and fell limp, the ring on her finger flashing gold where it rested right above her heart.

Merlin made his way down to Cassie's chambers, hoping to enlist her help in finding and confiscating the ring of Nalore, a stone cursed by an ancient sorcerer to show the wearer their deepest fear, haunting them until they died of fright.

Anyone effected would be so either until they died or until the stone was destroyed. It could only be destroyed by magic. Merlin planned to enlist Cassie's help obtaining the ring so he could destroy it. He needed all the help he could get, since the ring was nowhere to be found.

As he neared her doors, he could hear the sounds of loud arguing, in what was certainly another language coming from behind them. When he turned the corner the voices got louder. Half the castle could probably hear them, but it was clear that both Cassie and her friend were too upset to care.

He didn't know what to make of Ryan. Cassie had explained to him that Ryan was her best friend from home, that she'd known him all her life. He played drums in her music group and he had always been there for her. But Ryan himself had spoken very few words to the warlock himself. The princess had promised that she warned Ryan not to say anything about his magic, which was a relief, but he still worried about the man. Something was off about him. The fact that he and Cassie were constantly fighting was also nerve wracking. He wanted to like Ryan, for Cassie's sake, but he also couldn't bring himself to like a man who had his friend so constantly upset.

With a sigh, he raised his hand and knocked on her door. The voices fell silent.

"Come in," hers was choked with tears.

He pushed the door open to see the two standing in front of Cassie's table, a few feet apart. Ryan looked like he was about to explode in fury, his arms crossed tightly across his chest to hold himself together. His companion just looked tired.

"What is it, Merlin?" she asked, her voice soft.

He paused, unsure of whether to ask her, but peoples lives were at stake and he knew how she cared for the people of Camelot. "I need your help finding an enchanted ring," he began.

She sighed and held up a hand to stop him, "I can't right now, alright? I just can't, I'm sorry" she sounded as if she was about to cry.

He nodded, "Of course," and turned to leave, with one last glare at Ryan. The man glared back. The yelling started up again before he had made it three steps from the door.

Merlin was just going to have to do this on his own. He had made it halfway back down the hallway, when he bumped into Danielle, the princess' new servant.

"Sorry!" she flinched away, her head down and her hands shaking.

He considered her reaction for a moment, sympathy welling in his chest before he decided it was none of his business, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she snapped, composing herself. Then she looked up at him, her eyes hesitant, "Are they still yelling?"

He nodded.

"In that strange language?"

"It's called Spanish," he told her and her eyebrows went up, "That's what Cassie says its called, they speak it in Puerto Rico," the princess had explained that Spanish was really spoken in Puerto Rico, but that her home country in the future spoke mostly the same English they did in Camelot.

She eyed him, "Ryan tells a different story."

Merlin pushed open the nearest door, one that led to a seldom used staircase, and yanked her through it by the sleeve. The redhead wrenched her arm out of his grip, glaring at him with a fire in her blue eyes. They glared at each other, both determined. It didn't help him that she was as tall as he was.

"What did he tell you?" Merlin asked, suspicious.

Her gaze was equally as untrusting, "That he's from the future. That the princess isn't a princess, and she's lying," Danielle told him, then narrowed her eyes, at his lack of surprise "You knew."

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed, "As far as everyone in Camelot is concerned, she is a princess. You must treat her like one," he paused, "She's a good person, you know," he pointed out.

She looked like she was considering it, "So is Ryan," she told him. They stood in silence for a moment before she spoke again, "What was it you needed from the princess," she spoke the last word with slight distaste but made no further comment.

"I need help finding something," he was being purposely vague.

She brightened, "Well if the false princess can do it, I can," a pause, "If you would accept my help," she offered.

"I need help obtaining a ring, it's a blue stone in a gold band. The jewel turns gold when it catches the light. It is enchanted, it kills the wearer. I have to destroy it," he explained.

Danielle considered him in a way that reminded him alarmingly of Cassie, "Alright, where should we search for this ring?" she asked.

The serving boy was stumped, "Good question."

Sir Fredrick was in charge of removing the woman's body from the street in the lower town. The lady's husband was distraught, and inconsolable. He promised the court physician would look at her. As two guards carried her limp body up the castle steps, something fell from her fingers. He reached down to pick it up. It was a ring, with a pretty blue stone. He would return it to her husband. Fredrick slid the ring onto his pinky for safekeeping.

He felt a chill go down his spine, but ignored it. When he opened the castle door he froze, his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him, on something only he could see. His voice caught in his throat, only for a moment, and then he screamed.

Danielle dropped the basket of sheets she was holding the moment she heard screams echo through the castle. She ran towards the source of the noise, hoping Merlin would hear as well.

When she reached the entry hall she saw a knight curled on the ground, screaming in abject terror. His hands clutched his cloak around him, she caught a glimpse of the ring on his pinky finger, the jewel glinting gold as it caught the light. She hurried to him, dropping to her knees by his side and yanking the ring off his finger. His screams suddenly stopped. He looked around in apprehensive confusion.

"You're alright," she soothed, slipping the ring discreetly into her pocket.

Sir Fredrick stood, shaking himself to rid himself of the horrifying vision that had consumed him for a few moments. The visions of a woman, dead by the looks of all the blood, and staring with wide, vapid eyes at him, repeating the words 'Your fault' he shuddered again, reaching out a hand to help up the woman who tried to help him.

"Thank you miss," he nodded and turned to brusquely leave the castle, the dead woman and the ring forgotten.

Danielle however, had not forgotten the ring. She felt it in her pocket as if it burned against her thigh. She hurried up to Gaius' chambers, hoping to find Merlin there.

He turned to her as soon as the door opened. She was about to speak when she took in the rest of the scene. A woman's body was lying on the table. Her gown was made of rich fabric, marking her as a noble woman. Gaius spoke to two guards.

Merlin walked over to her briskly, "Do you have it?" he asked in a whisper. She nodded. He reached for her hand, but thought better of it when she flinched away, "Come on," he whispered instead, leading her up to his room, a small messy space that was half storage room, half bedroom.

"Are you sure you don't need a maid?" she asked, joking at the mess of clothes and books strewn over his floor.

Looking down at the floor, he scrambled to pick up his things, bundling shirts and socks around books and dumping the piles on the table along the wall beneath the window. He turned back looking slightly embarrassed, "The ring?" he asked.

She yanked it out of her pocket and handed it to him. He turned the piece over and over in his fingers, staring at it.

"How are we going to destroy it?" she asked, eyes wide and earnest.

Frowning, he held it up to the light and they both watched as it flashed gold, "I have to remove the magic from it, there must be something in Gaius' books. I'll look," he frowned, then looked back at her, "Would you do me a favor?" he asked.

Danielle sighed, "What favor?" she asked.

She held her breath before knocking on the large, wooden door in front of her. She couldn't believe Merlin had talked her into this.

"Enter!" came a very annoyed voice from the other side.

Pushing open the door, she dipped into a curtsey, expertly balancing her tray while doing so. "Good evening my lord. I have brought your dinner. Merlin regrets he could not do so. He is helping Gaius," she spoke before she brought herself up from the curtsey to find the prince staring at her.

"Well this is the first time he's bothered to send a replacement. Please, come in," he gestured at the empty table he sat at.

She nodded, and set the tray down on his table, moving his plate in front of him and filling a goblet with water.

"You're the Lady Cassandra's maid, yes?" he asked, his blue eyes fixed on hers.

Danielle nodded, "Yes my lord," she wanted to leave, so she could get back to Merlin, help him destroy the ring. She didn't know how he would remove magic from it without actually using magic himself, but she wanted to help him try.

But the prince was speaking again, "Is she alright?" he asked, and although he tried to look nonchalant, the maid could see just how much and how deeply he cared for Cassandra.

She considered her answer, "She and Ryan have much to catch up on, and the situation is delicate. They will both be alright my lord. I believe they need time."

Arthur nodded, "Thank you, you may go," he picked up his fork and twirled it between his fingers, going back to studying the wood on the table in front of him.

"My lord," she curtseyed again and scurried out of the room. She hoped Merlin had made some progress while she had been gone, but her conversation with the prince nagged at her conscience.

"This is it!" Merlin held up the ring, his finger pointed at a line of spell in his book. He spoke the incantation clearly, with purpose and watched as the ring flared gold for a few seconds, as if it was fighting him, before returning to a dull blue.

Gaius peered at it from across the table, "Are you sure it worked?" he asked.

"Do you want to be the one to test it out?" the younger man asked, sarcasm coloring his tone.

The physician shook his head, "No. We must keep an eye on it, and on Sir Fredrick. I fear this is not over yet."

Shaking his head, Merlin closed the book and placed the ring on top of it. He was confident the spell had worked, he had felt it.

Danielle burst through the door, her braid swinging around wildly as she entered, "Did you find a way to stop the magic?" she asked.

He grinned, "Yes," he spoke with confidence.

She returned his smile, "Good."

Gaius invited her to stay for dinner, but she declined, thanking him, but reminding them she had a sister to look after.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Merlin went to pick up Arthur's empty dinner plates from his chambers, mostly ignored by the prince who was quiet and brooding.

When he went to bed, he was calm, proud of himself for solving this problem of the ring almost entirely on his own. Of course, Danielle deserved some credit, but mostly for obtaining the ring. He fell asleep happy, sure everyone in Camelot was safe once more.

In the middle of the night from deep in the castle, screams pierced the night. Merlin woke with a start. His head whipped around, trying to determine if he was dreaming or not. He wasn't.

He was up and out of bed quickly, running out of Gaius' chambers, down the halls, stopping every few moments to determine the direction the screams came from. He raced down stairs to the part of the castle where the knights resided. A small crowd was amassed outside Sir Fredrick's door. A few knights already inside trying to calm the clearly terrified man. He felt someone elbow their way through the crowd next to him.

"I thought you said you fixed it?" Danielle spoke from beside him.

"I thought I did," he responded. Then he turned and ran back up the stairs, heading back to Gaius' chambers for the ring. It was not enough to simply remove the magic. He had to destroy it. The physician was not there, probably down with Sir Fredrick trying to calm him. Merlin flipped through the book, his movements frantic, his fingers stumbling over pages. He tried two spells with no result.

He began the third, his concentration so deep that he did not see or hear the door to Gaius' chambers open, or the person step inside. He spoke the ancient spell, his eyes glowed gold and the ring exploded into gold sparks.

Danielle stumbled backwards into the door, thudding against it, catching the sorcerer's attention. She stared at him with wide eyes. Sorcery was outlawed in Camelot. It hadn't been in Moria, but it was very strictly regulated and most people were taught to fear it.

"You've got magic?" she asked of the young man who was staring back at her with equal terror.

"You can't tell anyone. I'd be executed," he pleaded.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Merlin didn't seem threatening. And he had just used his magic to save someone's life. He looked far too fearful to hurt her. "I won't," then she had a thought, "As long as you promise to use it to help get Ryan and his friend home," she added.

His relief at her promise to keep his secret turned into apprehension. "I can promise to try to help them find a way home. But whether Cassie leaves is her decision," he agreed.

The redhead pursed her lips, "Fine. But she doesn't belong here."

He glared right back, "Cassie has left before. We all suffered for it. Maybe she does belong here, but she didn't think so. Her return has improved the lives of many in Camelot. Get to know her a bit before you make that decision."

Danielle was taken aback. He had a point. And she hadn't known that Cassandra had left before. She had known there had to be another side to the story, but hadn't considered it important until now. Maybe she would give the false princess another chance. If she and Ryan ever stopped yelling at each other.

They stood at a stand off until the serving girl nodded and left.

Merlin sighed, hoping that this didn't come back to haunt him.

Cassie didn't hear about the terror and near death of Sir Fredrick until the next morning. She immediately went upstairs to Gaius' chambers.

"Is that what you wanted my help with?" she demanded of the warlock as he sat alone, eating his breakfast.

"Is what-" he began to ask but she cut him off.

"If you had told me people were dying, I would have stopped and helped, I'm sorry Merlin," she looked distraught and more tired than she had the day before.

He stood, "Cassie, if you want to help me, go rest. Spend time with Arthur. I handled the magic ring. And…" This time he cut himself off.

"What?" she demanded.

"Well Danielle, your maid, she found out about my magic," he admitted.

The princess gasped, "What? How?" she asked, sitting at the table with him, the worry making her more tired.

He explained what had happened, how she had helped him. Their agreement. She was frowning when he finished.

"Maybe she's right," her voice was small, "Maybe I do need to go back, especially if it'll help protect you."

"No," Merlin's response was quick and she looked up at him, "I remember when you left. And how things have changed since your return. You belong in Camelot. Even the great dragon said so."

She scoffed, "Yeah, and a real pal he turned out to be," she was being sarcastic but he could see the hope beyond it.

"Why did you come back?" he asked after a moment.

Pressing her lips together, Cassie looked around, thinking, "I've told you that you and Arthur and Camelot are legends in my time," she began. He nodded, "Well my father studies history. He teaches it, actually, and he gave me a book. I was reading that book and came to the legend of King Arthur. I knew it before, kind of, but this version was new. This version told of a Cassandra from a far away kingdom who changed the outcome of an important event. But I hadn't changed that event during my time here yet. So I came back. Of course I did," she shrugged, "There was no other choice to make," Her confidence returned with her words.

"Then don't let Ryan convince you otherwise," he placed a hand on her shoulder and she reached out and hugged him.

"Thanks Merlin," she pulled away, "I'm going to go talk to Arthur. He has been a bit grumpy since Ryan showed up, I should try to fix it," she smiled, some of the exhaustion in her face gone.

He grinned as she left the room, her step lighter than it had been coming in. Well, at least someone consistently thanked him.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: I had a lot of fun with this chapter, and everyone got to see a little more of Danielle, who is probably my most challenging to write, so I hope I did well? Leave me a review to let me know?**


	11. Chapter 11: Where We Go From Here

**A/N: Some really important things happen in this chapter. Writers block has made its appearance so I'm updating before I've finished the latest chapter, but this one was written so, here you all are!**

 **XXX**

Gwen blew out the last of the candles in Morgana's room and placed an extra blanket at the foot of her bed in case she got cold in the night. The fall was getting cooler and sometimes at night it was a little chilly. She was already keeping the fire running all night in her own home, which was much less insulated than the castle.

The Lady was unusually quiet and still, and the serving girl tiptoed through the room so as not to wake her. Morgana had been increasingly tired of late. Gwen suspected she hadn't been sleeping much, her nightmares getting the better of her. She wished she knew how to help.

With one last glance around the room to make sure it was clean and nothing was out of place, Gwen ducked out, closing the door quietly behind her. She let out a tired sigh of relief at the chance to go home and bundle herself in her own blankets to sleep. Her work had been exhausting lately, and she valued the nights she got a full nights sleep as they were few and far between.

She was halfway home when she remembered she'd left one of Morgana's dresses in the washing room. Half of her was tempted to leave it and worry about it in the morning. But she knew the kitchen staff did their laundry early in the mornings and didn't want to take the chance of the dress being accidentally – or purposely – taken or ruined in a much harsher washing. The thing was silk, and very expensive.

So she turned around, and trudged back into the palace. The dress obtained from the wash room, no worse for its brief time drying there, the servant made her way back up the stairs towards Morgana's chambers. She was surprised to see light emanating from under the door.

"My lady?" she knocked, leaning her ear close to the wood to hear a response. None came. "Morgana? Are you alright? I'm coming in," she pushed open the door to see the lady yank her covers up to her chin in bed. Two candles were lit, one by her wardrobe and the other on her vanity. It was strange, but her eyes focused on Morgana.

The brunette lay in bed, the covers pulled all the way up, staring at Gwen with wide eyes.

"Are you alright my lady?" she repeated her question.

"Yes, of course, I'm fine," the lady smiled, snuggling deeper into her covers.

Her servant gave her one last suspicious look, then turned to the wardrobe to put the dress on its hanger inside. "Goodnight my lady," she blew out the candles and hesitated briefly by the door.

"Night Gwen," Morgana's voice was firm and the servant took it as her cue to leave. She went back out into the night, to go home and sleep.

Morgana, however wasn't going to sleep.

 **XXX**

While Gwen might have been able to dismiss Morgana's strange behavior, Cassie was not. She watched from the shadows of an alcove in the castle walls as Gwen left Morgana's room, then as, a few minutes later, Morgana herself left. She was clad in her darkest purple cloak, and trying her hardest to walk soundlessly through the halls.

The smaller woman shadowed her through the castle, her own shadow, one much less used to the winding hallways, creeping along behind her.

He bumped into a candelabra that stood tall on the floor, and Cassie yanked him around a corner as Morgana looked back. Seeing nothing, the woman quickened her step.

"Sorry," Ryan muttered as his friend glared at him.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, but ducked back into the hallway to follow the king's ward. After a moment, she felt him following her again.

They tailed Morgana out of the castle, watching as the woman easily evaded the guards, and hurried through the lower town. For Ryan and Cassie it took a bit more maneuvering. The fake princess was used to sneaking out, but her companion was not. He bumped into several barrels in the courtyard, and tripped under the gate and she was half tempted to leave him behind. Once they were in the woods, the darkness of Morgana's cloak making it hard to follow her, Ryan was less awkward.

She hurried through the woods, her tail keeping a safe distance. Cassie had long suspected that Morgana had been sneaking out, meeting someone in the woods. She assumed it was one of the reasons the lady had been so distant lately.

Finally, the princess had decided to follow her. She recruited Ryan, because she didn't want to spill Morgana's secret to anyone in Camelot just yet. She wouldn't betray her friend's trust that way.

That was how she and Ryan found themselves crouched behind a tree on high ground while Morgana hurried along the path towards a small, hooded figure who stood in the middle of the dip in the land.

They embraced, and both pulled back their hoods. The black cloak Morgana's companion wore concealed a tumble of blonde hair, and a pretty face, from what Cassie could see.

"Sister," the woman greeted and she felt her brow furrow. Morgana didn't have a sister. At least she didn't think so.

"I have been practicing," the dark haired woman informed the blonde.

She nodded, "Good, good, let me see how you've improved," she stepped back from Morgana, and watched, along with Cassie and Ryan, as the lady incanted a spell and a fire started just in front of her on the ground, no kindling needed.

Her eyes had glowed gold, she had magic. Ryan gasped and Cassie elbowed him hard in the ribs. He glared at her.

"I thought magic was outlawed in Camelot?" he whispered.

"It is," she hissed back through gritted teeth. She turned her attention back to Morgana and her companion. Possibly her sister.

They continued, working on magic, the blonde teaching Morgana spells, making her memorize the words to practice. The longer Cassie watched, the more sick to her stomach she felt. This was dangerous. This was so dangerous, Morgana may have been Uther's ward, but the man was blinded to everything by his hatred of magic. He would never forgive her if he found out, he might even kill her. And she had to figure out who the woman was. This woman who called Morgana sister.

"We have to go," she said to Ryan, slowly rising from her crouch behind the tree. He joined her and as quietly as they could, the two made their way out of the woods and back to Camelot. They went to Cassie's rooms, and she wished right then she had tequila more than anything.

"What's going on with her?" Ryan asked. He had liked Morgana, she could tell.

The brunette shook her head and began to pace, "I don't know. I don't know who that other woman is, or how long she's been learning magic. I didn't even know she _had_ magic."

He raised his eyebrows, "Cass, you know this has nothing to do with you," he told her, "Haven't you ever heard of Morgan Le Fay?"

She whirled around to look at him, "And haven't you realized that all the legends we knew were wrong?" she snapped, "I mean according to those, Merlin is supposed to be an old man and Arthur was supposed to be a squire."

"But there are different stories. Different versions. In some versions Morgan Le Fay is good, and in others she's King Arthur's evil half-sister who tries to kill him at every turn. Besides, all of the legends of Cassandra of Camelot are true," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but that only happened after I came here. Which is all the proof in the world that these legends don't define anything here," she snapped.

Ryan looked confused, "Cass, you were named after Cassandra of Camelot. Which is really weird to think about now…" he trailed off and then it was her turn to look confused.

"No I wasn't. My dad always told me I was named after Cassandra of Troy, the seer out of Greek Mythology. And Alex was named after Alexander the Great," she was positive. It was what she had been told her entire life. In fact she'd done a project for school on Cassandra of Troy because she was her namesake.

The dark haired man shook his head, "I had a talk with your dad like three months ago and he told me you were named for Cassandra of Camelot. It's why I know so much about Arthurian legends."

Cassie sat down on the bed and stared at her feet. "Somehow I've changed not just history, but my own life in the future," she looked up at him, "What if I can somehow stop Alex's death?" she asked.

He sighed, "No, Cass, you can't. This is already wrong, us being here. We've changed too much. _You've_ changed too much."

She stood again, "Not this again, Ryan. I don't have the energy right now and we have bigger issues to deal with. This could get Morgana killed, but I can't help her if she won't tell me anything," she ran a hand through her hair, frustrated.

Ryan considered for a moment, "Probably because you're too close to everything. Why don't I talk to her?" he offered and her eyes snapped to his face, "Don't look so surprised. Just because I don't think we should be here, doesn't mean I'm going to let your friend get herself executed by her father figure."

With a sigh, she joined him where he stood by her table and wrapped her arms around him. This was the man who had constantly been there to support her through the years of pain after Alex's death and the drama and insecurity that came along with trying to launch a successful music career. He hesitated a moment before hugging her back. They stood like that for a few minutes, until he stepped back.

"Get some rest Cass. We can worry about Morgana in the morning," he turned to leave and she stood by the table, as if her feet were rooted to the ground. It would be easy to just fall into the bed that was a few feet from her, but she knew she should go to her prince. So after waiting long enough that Ryan would be almost on the other side of the castle, she left her room quietly, and snuck downstairs, to his room.

She opened the door and slid inside, closing it behind her. Arthur was sprawled across the bed on his stomach, the covers pushed down to reveal the planes of his back. Sometimes she wondered how he stayed so pale with all the time he spent outside, but then again, he always had all that heavy chainmail to cover himself up. She stripped out of her riding dress and pulled one of his shirts out of his drawer. Merlin probably wouldn't be pleased at the extra laundry he had to do, but she figured she could manage him a day off sometime to make up for it.

Arthur stirred when she climbed into bed with him, "Cassie?" he asked, sleepily, shifting so he could pull her into his chest. He was warm and solid and she pressed her face into his chest, placing a kiss on his collar bone by way of answer. But he was more awake now, and his lips sought hers in the dark. She kissed him with all her frustration and anxiety, her fingers splaying across his ribs so she could push him down and roll on top of him, her knees falling on either side of his hips.

He groaned, one hand tangling in her hair and the other on her lower back, pressing her to him. But after a moment he used his grip on the back of her head to pull her away from him just far enough to look her in the eyes. Even in the darkness she could tell how blue his were. "What's wrong?" he asked.

This time it was her turn to groan, and it was not the good kind. She rolled off him and flopped on her back on the mattress, staring up at the red of the canopy above his bed. He propped himself up on an elbow next to her, his free hand toying with the v on the neck of his shirt that dipped dangerously low on her, his fingers dancing over the bare skin over her breastbone. She felt a shiver go through her at his touch and a smile tugged at a corner of his mouth.

"You know we aren't going to have a serious talk if you keep that up," she informed him. His fingers stilled and he waited patiently. She sighed, "Trying to make Ryan understand my life here and why I have to stay is exhausting," she told him. It was true, but not the thing that had her mind spinning in circles.

But it was enough to catch Arthur's attention. "He wants you to leave?" he looked nervous.

Cassie smiled slightly at his concern and leaned up to kiss him, "Don't worry," she said when she pulled away, "I'm not going to. Camelot is my home, and you are all my family," she reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes, "I'll always be here," she swore, and in that moment she knew she had to help Morgana.

"Good," he kissed her forehead and pulled her too him, "I love you, Cassandra," he whispered into her hair.

She grinned, he had taken to calling her Cassandra in serious moments, and though the use of her full name usually bothered her, she never minded with him. "And I love you, Arthur," she tilted her head back and kissed him, rolling back on top of him to let him help her forget about everything that was worrying her.

 **XXX**

The next morning, she put her plan in action. She asked Gwen to bring enough breakfast for two to Morgana's chambers, and once there, she begged Morgana to take Ryan out on a ride for the day, that she needed time with him out of the castle, to think.

"Of course, Cassie, of course," the woman looked tired but she seemed enthusiastic enough about the ride. Cassie was mostly excited about it because Ryan liked horses even less than she did. And he had been an ass lately so he deserved it.

Once they left, Ryan looking incredibly uncomfortable, Cassie marched back into the castle to go interrogate Merlin.

She pushed open the door to Gaius' chambers and found the two packing up Gaius' medicine bag. They looked up when she entered.

"Merlin, you're friends with Morgana right?" she asked, attempting to come across as nonchalant.

He made a confused face, "As are you," he pointed out.

She shrugged, "Yeah, but I have a question for you. Does Morgana have a sister?" she asked.

The warlock shook his head, but neither missed how Gaius fumbled the vials he was holding, dropping them on the table and one to the floor where it broke with a crash.

"I didn't think so," Merlin stared at Gaius expectantly. Cassie closed the door behind her and crossed to them.

"Gaius," she pushed.

The old man sighed, "Morgana's mother had another child. Morgana's half-sister," he paused and she knew there was something else. Both she and Merlin glared at him until he continued, "I suspect that the sorceress Morgause is that child."

Merlin's eyes went wide. Cassie knew that name, she had heard it before, when Merlin told her of the way the sorceress had shown Arthur his mother in an attempt to ruin his relationship with his father.

"Shit," Cassie swore and turned to run out of the room, Merlin running after her.

"Wait, Cassie!" he shouted after her. She stopped. "Why do you need to know about Morgana's sister?" he asked.

She hesitated, "I think Morgana knows already," she looked around, seeing no one, "And I think Morgause is teaching her magic," she whispered.

" _What?_ " Merlin was incredulous. He knew Morgana had magic. She had come to Gaius and then him when she set her bedroom on fire by accident with her uncontrolled powers. But apparently now they were more controlled. "How do you know?" he followed up.

"We followed her, Ryan and I," she admitted, "She sneaks out of the castle at night to meet with Morgause in the Northern woods. They practice Morgana's magic."

He ran a hand through his hair, shocked and upset, "She's dangerous. And it is dangerous for Morgana to sneak out to practice magic."

Cassie shook her head, "Yeah, no shit, but what are we supposed to do about it?" she asked.

Both were at a loss, thinking for a moment before Merlin had an idea, "We tell Uther that Morgause has been spotted in the Northern woods," he suggested.

She frowned, "It might work, but it will really upset Morgana," she pointed out.

"Better Morgana alive and upset, than dead," he reminded her.

With a sigh, she agreed, "You want to tell Arthur, or shall I?" she asked.

He looked her up and down, skepticism clear in his gaze, "I'll tell him, mention reports from a patient of Gaius'. He won't suspect," he nodded.

Cassie's eyebrows went up, "Alright, but be prepared to get dragged on that particular man hunt," she shrugged.

Merlin rolled his eyes but looked as if it was the last thing he had wanted to do with his day. He turned to go but she called after him.

"Merlin," he looked back, "You don't need me to tell you not to tell anyone about this?" she asked, her face genuinely concerned for Morgana.

He smiled, "Of course not," he promised, earning a smile from the princess. He briefly wondered if this was the right thing to do, but they had to act fast and they had no other options. So he would go to Arthur.

 **XXX**

Ryan absolutely hated horses. He had since he was eight and his dad had stuck him on a pony at a renaissance fair while he was working to keep Ryan occupied. The horse had evidently not enjoyed having a small child clutch its mane hard enough to pull hair out, and bucked him. Five year old Cassie and Alex had laughed, but when it was Cassie's turn to go on a new pony, she refused.

He found himself smiling at the thought of the twins who had been the definition of double trouble. They looked almost exactly alike, both with light brown hair and matching hazel eyes. They both had the high cheekbones that made Cassie pretty and a slim build. Alex had been taller than her, by almost a foot, though since his sister was so short, it still didn't put him above six feet.

Morgana pulled her horse up ahead of him and he did his best to mimic her movements. His horse slowed to a trot and stopped a few feet ahead of hers with a gorgeous view of a lake. She laughed at his ineptitude but it was good natured.

"I suppose you don't ride horses very much in Puerto Rico?" she asked and he had to control his reaction to the mention of the island territory that he most certainly wasn't from.

"No. Not at all," he told her, dismounting and only just managing not to fall over. She suppressed a giggle and dismounted in a much more graceful fashion despite the fact that she was wearing a dress.

They were silent for a few moments, staring out at the calm water. "Do you miss it?" she asked.

It took him a moment to realize she was talking to him. But of course she was, "Miss what?" he asked, looking at her. She was staring out at the lake. She was really very beautiful, with her tiny nose, green eyes, perfect curls and regal posture.

She turned to him, "Cassie tells me your home is on the water, right on the ocean. Do you miss it?" she asked again.

He considered a moment. He did miss the beach. His family and Cassie's had spent summer after summer taking turns taking the kids to the beach. The girls still went with his mother and hers, but he never went anymore. "I do miss it," he said, then realizing he could turn this conversation to his advantage. "I miss a lot of things from home. My parents, my sisters," he sighed.

"You have sisters?" she asked, her green eyes genuine and curious.

Ryan nodded, "Yes, three of them. Esperanza is twelve, Yasmin is nine and Ximena is seven," he beamed at the thought of the three girls who were the light of his life.

Morgana smiled, "You sound proud of them, I'm sure they're wonderful," she pet her horse's nose, smiling absently.

"They are," he studied her face carefully, "Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

Her expression turned sad before she schooled it back to a smile, "No, none," she shook her head, keeping her eyes focused on the grass. He raised his eyebrows, giving her a probing look that she only noticed once she looked up. She pursed her lips, and took a deep breath, "Well I have a half-sister. But she would be in great danger if anyone knew of her existence. You will keep my secret, won't you Ryan?" she pleaded, her eyes wide.

He felt a pang of guilt at her expression. He planned on telling Cassie. But maybe he didn't really have to. Maybe he could just tell her he got nothing out of Morgana. While she was certainly his oldest friend, she had changed in the time she had been gone. She was no longer the person he had known. So he could justify lying to her.

"Of course, I swear I won't tell anyone," he promised the dark haired woman in front of him.

She beamed, "Thank you Ryan. Sometimes I feel like such an outsider in Camelot. I imagine you feel the same. It's nice to have someone who understands," she looked down and pink colored her cheeks.

"It is nice," he agreed, and watched as her cheeks got darker, thinking she was really pretty when she blushed.

 **XXX**

Merlin was crouched in the brush next to Arthur, sitting so close that the man's armor was jabbing him in the arm. The foliage around him buzzed with life, and the dead leaves beneath his feet crunched every time he shifted. They watched Morgause tend to a fire that cooked what looked like a rabbit she caught. Knights slowly crept around in the woods to surround her. When Arthur saw the signal, he would give the go ahead and they would attack the sorceress.

He didn't know what the signal was supposed to be, but he hoped the prince did and had it figured out. Apparently it was a low call that sounded like it might be a bird. The sorceress tensed, but then relaxed when nothing happened. A few moments later, Arthur rose and called out. The rest of the knights followed his lead and rushed the clearing where the sorceress sat.

She stood, her eyes flaring, and then centered herself, her eyes flashing gold as she disappeared in mid air, just as Arthur reached her with his sword drawn. He swore and kicked at the fire.

"Search the tent and the surrounding woods!" he instructed, "I want her found!"

Merlin ducked into her tent and began sorting through things. He came across a strip of green silk wrapped around a pair of earrings, diamonds by the look of them. It was clear they belonged to Morgana. He quickly slipped them into a pocket in his jacket, just as Arthur poked his head into the tent.

"Find anything?" the prince asked.

"No," he shook his head.

The blonde man sighed, "Well keep looking."

They ended up bringing most of Morgause's things back to the castle and Merlin hoped that she would be scared away from meeting with Morgana in the future.

Uther, however, was not pleased. "You took thirty knights, and a single sorceress evaded you?" he demanded.

Cassie's nervous eyes met Merlin's. Morgana looked even more alarmed. She had returned from her ride with Ryan –who was nowhere to be found- a few minutes earlier and had come to the council chamber to say hello.

Arthur sighed, "She disappeared into thin air. There was nothing we could do," he defended, looking still a little embarrassed.

The king did not look appeased, "Send out search parties," he commanded, "I want her found and brought to justice."

"Yes father," came Arthur's dutiful response, he nodded and turned to leave.

Merlin watched as Morgana's face looked terrified, and she quickly excused herself.

 **XXX**

When Ryan and Morgana returned, they parted ways with smiles, her to the council chambers, and him back to his rooms. They had spent the day wandering around the lake, discussing life in their individual kingdoms. He had tried not to lie as much as possible, but had to make up a few facts. Mostly the lady had wanted to hear about his family, his childhood and what Cassie was like before they'd met.

After he changed and spent some time trying to make his hair cooperate after the long day of riding with wind through it, he went to find Cassie, to convince her that Morgana was just fine.

"You didn't get anything out of her?" the brunette asked, incredulous, "You guys were gone for hours!" she exclaimed.

He shrugged, "I asked and she said she didn't have any siblings. We moved on after that," his tone was a bit defensive but he hoped she wouldn't notice.

She did, but didn't say anything, "Alright Ryan, thank you," she forced a smile, but her mind was racing. She would have to follow Morgana again that night to make sure her plan had worked.

Ryan left to go to bed, catch up on the sleep he'd missed the night before. So Cassie dressed to go out and waited in the hallway outside Morgana's rooms. She recruited Merlin this time and the two tailed the woman for the second night in a row back out to the woods. But this time Morgana waited alone. No one showed and the princess almost dared hope that Morgause had backed off.

Little did she know that from about a hundred paces back, in the shadow of her own tree, the sorceress in question was watching Cassie and Merlin with a predatory look as she considered what to do with the nosy princess who her sister was so fond of. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good for the princess.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: I'm really liking writing Morgana and Ryan's dynamic as outsiders together. This chapter was a bit cobbled together, but I think I like how it turned out. Thank you to those who have followed and favorited the story. I would love for some reviews to keep me motivated to write. I know I publish frequently, but they really do help on the enthusiasm side.**


	12. Chapter 12: Take The Summer From Me

Danielle watched out the Lady Cassandra's window as Gwen ran across the courtyard towards a group of bedraggled looking knights as they entered through the main gate. She liked the other servant. Gwen was sweet with a smile that could light up a room, the two women had become close, especially after Gwen had convinced Gaius, the physician, to take on Leanne as his apprentice for half the day. The other half the day the child spent in the library, Geoffrey, the old librarian having taken a strange liking to her. According to Merlin the man liked almost no one and was perpetually grumpy.

She felt a smile spread across her face as she watched a dark haired knight dismount his horse and sweep Gwen up in his arms. He twirled her in a circle and then set her down, kissing her in front of everyone in the courtyard.

The redhead was happy for her friend, the smile staying on her face as she completed her chores around Cassandra's chambers. The woman was surprisingly neat, and though Danielle didn't like her, she had to admit it was better working for the false princess than it had been working for Lady Brenna.

"Hey, what has you smiling?" Cassandra had entered the room, unheard by her maid and stood by the bed, leaning against it, eyebrows raised and a smile on her face. She was a very pleasant mistress, and treated Danielle well, but she was fooling everyone in Camelot, and whatever had happened in her past with Ryan had hurt him deeply. And she couldn't forgive the smaller woman for that. But she was Danielle's mistress, so she answered.

"A knight who seems very fond of Gwen just returned to Camelot. Their reunion in the courtyard was very sweet," she nodded her head out the window and watched as the little brunette's smile widened.

She rushed to the window, peering out, "Oh I'm so glad Lancelot is back alright. We'll have to do something to celebrate," she turned from the window, her mouth twisted in thought. Then she looked up at her maid, "Danielle, have you ever been to the beach?" she asked, a mischievous smile on her face.

The taller woman was confused. The beach? By the ocean? Why would she have ever been to the beach? "No, my lady," she answered, frowning at the words my lady. She hated referring to Cassandra as someone with a title, for she was not a lady.

Cassandra frowned, settling her weight in one hip and placing her hands on her hips, "Can I at least get you to call me Cassandra if you won't call me Cassie?" she asked, "No titles?"

The maid narrowed her eyes, "I know your titles aren't real anyway," she informed her.

"Ryan," she didn't look surprised, "I'm sure he told you more than I have. But it would help both Ryan and I if you didn't mention that to anyone," her eyebrows went up and for a moment she looked dangerous. Danielle wondered if the stories she'd heard of the warrior princess just might be true.

But she refused to be intimidated by a woman more than half a foot shorter than her, so she set her expression, "Fine, then, Cassandra it is. What is this talk about a beach?" she asked, mostly to change the subject and get the hard look out of Cassandra's eyes.

It worked. She blinked and the brunette was once again animated, "The beach is wonderful, and I bet it's still warm enough this time of year for a camping trip to the ocean. You'll come with us of course, bring Leanne, she'll love it. As will Ryan. Gwen and Lancelot obviously, and Arthur, Merlin and Morgana," she considered for a moment, "Is Gwaine still around? I like him, he should come too. And Leon if the king will let him go for a day. That's two knights and Arthur, and I guess Ryan if you want to count him. More than enough to keep an eye on us, right?"

Danielle had to stop herself from smiling. Ryan was most certainly not a knight. She had watched him attempt to train with Prince Arthur's men. And while he had held his own with a sword, he was clearly out of practice. "I'm sure it will be fine m- Cassandra," she answered.

The woman grinned and as much as Danielle didn't want to like her, it was infectious and she found herself smiling. Maybe a beach day wouldn't be so bad.

 **XXX**

An hour later, they were all packed with food and horses and everyone after Cassandra had dragged her around the castle to tell everyone they were going to the beach. At Arthur and Merlin's groans, this trip apparently hadn't been successful in the past and she wondered at the story. Morgana chatted with Ryan, their horses pulled up next to each other. Gwen was beaming at the dark haired man she had introduced to Dani and Leanne as Lancelot. Cassie was having a stare down with her horse while Arthur tried not to laugh from atop his and Merlin had given up on being nice and was snickering from the top of his horse.

"Can I ride with Cassie?" Leanne begged, having become fond of the princess in the last weeks. Not that the woman in question had done anything to earn that. She was awkward around the child, but Lee could talk to a tree if she had to. Danielle suspected that her sister simply admired that she was a princess and kind at the same time.

The redhead watched her mistress mutter at the horse in the strange language she and Ryan shared, waving a finger at it. It was pretty funny. "Lee, I think the princess is going to have enough trouble riding her horse with just her on it, you can just ride with me," she was about to haul the child up into the saddle, when out of nowhere, Gwaine appeared and knelt down in front of her baby sister.

"Hello little princess," he greeted her with a wide smile which the child returned, "Allow me to assist you," he glanced up at Danielle with a wink and easily lifted the child, who squealed with glee, onto the horse.

"Thank you!" Leanne giggled as the man bowed.

He turned to her sister, "And may I assist you?" he was grinning, holding out a hand.

Danielle was decidedly not impressed. Simply because he could make her sister smile didn't mean she liked him. It didn't. "I'm fine," she reached up and swung herself onto the horse behind her sister with little effort.

"As the lady wishes," his smile had shrunk into a barely there smirk, and he bowed his head, stepping away, towards the horses remaining to be used.

"Cassandra," the prince addressed his princess, he sounded only the tiniest bit impatient, "You just have to get on the horse, it does all the work after that," he reminded her.

She actually stuck her tongue out at him. Sometimes she did things that made Danielle fear for the future. "Getting on is the hard part," she informed him. He just laughed, clearly too in love to notice how strange she was.

"Allow me to assist you," Gwaine stepped in with the same charm he had used on Leanne. Cassandra smiled, taking his proffered hand and letting him help her onto her horse with a hand on her waist.

The prince fixed Gwaine with a dirty look and Merlin let out a laugh. When everyone was finally on their horses, they set out. There were ten of them including Leanne who chattered to her sister and Gwaine, who rode beside them, about the kinds of plants they were seeing. She was learning about botany from Gaius.

He listened intently, nodding and asking questions at just the right times. It gave Danielle a chance to really look at him. He was attractive, there was no denying it, with warm brown eyes and windswept hair. He looked like he always smiled, like it was so natural to him that it was hard to keep the expression off his face. They rode in twos, except the front where Cassandra rode between Merlin and Arthur, chatting amiably with the two. Gwen and Lancelot rode so close to each other their knees bumped as their horses moved, but they seemed too wrapped up in each other to care.

Ryan and Morgana brought up the rear. She was asking him about Puerto Rico and he was struggling to come up with answers that made sense. Danielle didn't understand everything about the future that he came from, but she understood enough to know that it was nothing like Camelot and that he wasn't really from a place called Puerto Rico, if such a place even existed.

They rose for a few hours, but were apparently closer to the ocean than Danielle had thought. Cassandra spurred her horse ahead as they saw the end of the treeline ahead. Arthur shook his head and raced after her.

Leanne had fallen silent, braiding the horses mane as they walked. "The princess is a strange one, is she not?" Gwaine asked, his question directed at Danielle.

She frowned, "She certainly is unusual," she agreed.

"But nice to work for?" he asked, adding what she had been thinking.

"Where do you come from?" she asked him, partially to change the subject, and partially because she wondered about him. More than she'd like to admit.

He smiled at her interest, "Here and there. I was born in Carlion's lands, but I've been everywhere since," he told her.

She almost didn't ask, but her curiosity got the better of her, "Have you ever been to Moria?" she held her breath.

"I have. Didn't last long, drank my way through it once, never went back," he considered her and she felt how perceptive he was, "What was it like to live there?" he asked.

She pressed her lips together, "Not very different from Camelot," she lied. If she was being honest, it was immensely different. Camelot was a more prosperous kingdom, and she enjoyed working for Cassandra even if she didn't particularly like the woman. "If you've never lasted long in one place before, why have you been in Camelot so long?" she asked.

Gwaine looked down, and if she didn't know better, she would say he was embarrassed, "Beautiful women are a good excuse to stay somewhere, and Camelot is just full of them, isn't it," he winked at her. She rolled her eyes, but let the smile onto her face along with her blush.

They came up to the beach to see Arthur tying up his and Cassandra's horses, and the princess having kicked off her shoes, dancing around in the sand barefoot and laughing.

"Come on Arthur!" she called and the prince shook his head, a smile on his face as he finished tying up the horses and went to her. She took his hand and dragged him towards where the waves lapped calmly against the shore, lifting her skirts with her free hand and taking him right to the waters edge, where he hung back while she let the waves touch her toes.

"Certainly strange," Danielle repeated as she dismounted her horse, this time taking Gwaine's offered hand. He pulled Leanne down and the child ran to the sand to start playing with it. She had never seen sand like this before and she was fascinated by the stuff. Gwen and Lancelot dismounted ahead of them, tied their horses next to the others and walked off hand in hand down the beach, lost in each other entirely.

Ryan and Morgana joined Danielle and Gwaine where they waited, "Watch this," Ryan said to them and took off down the beach, grabbing Cassandra and throwing her over his shoulder with practiced ease. She shrieked and laughed and Danielle felt her jaw drop open, sure that the Lady by her side looked the same.

With his friend still over his shoulder, her prince watching in apprehension, Ryan kicked off his boots and ran right into the water. He shouted in surprise at how cold it was, and hauled the brunette back over his shoulder so she was dumped into water up to her waist. She also cried out at the cold.

"Damn it Ryan!" she shouted, immediately making her way back up towards the shore, where Arthur waited patiently for her. It was then that Ryan reached down, cupped his hand and swung it through the water, splashing her.

Cassandra shrieked again, tensing, her eyes closed and her shoulders up to her ears. Then she rounded on him, mimicking his motion and splashing him back. Everyone was staring at them now. Arthur from the edge of the water in indecision, Merlin, laughing behind him, Gwen and Lancelot in concern, Morgana and Gwaine in confusion and Danielle in utter shock.

The two laughed and splashed the water at each other, and the moment Arthur took a step forward, she saw Merlin's attention snap to him, and watched as the sand suddenly sunk beneath the prince and he careened forwards into the water in an uncharacteristically uncoordinated move. She hid her smile. It must be Merlin's magic.

"Care to test the water my lady?" Gwaine's voice was full of charm again, and Danielle ignored him, assuming he was speaking to Morgana. But when no one answered, she turned and saw his hand was offered to her.

"I'm not a lady you know," she reminded him. She wasn't sure what to make of Gwaine. He was certainly good looking and kind to both her and her sister. But he flirted with everyone, and she knew she couldn't be the only woman he had his eye on. Then again, a little flirting could hurt. It wasn't as if anything would come of it.

He tsked, "Ah, but you are to me," his grin was ridiculous and she rolled her eyes, but took his outstretched hand and let him lead her towards the water. It couldn't hurt. Leanne snagged her other hand and pulled them, taking the lead from Gwaine, and running for the waves.

Danielle scooped her up, "I don't think you should go in sweetheart, maybe just by the edge, get your feet wet. I wouldn't want you to get washed away," she placed a kiss on the child's blonde curls.

"Yes Dani," she agreed and when her sister set her down, she immediately tugged off her tiny boots and delicately stuck a toe in the edge of a wave. She squeaked and jumped back. "It's cold!" she informed her sister, who was in the process of removing her own shoes.

The redhead stuck her toe out and dipped it in the edge of another wave, yanking it back immediately. It was freezing. She had no idea how her futuristic friend and mistress were still frolicking in it.

Gwaine marched forward, barefoot and his pant legs rolled up, right into the water. He winced when he stepped in, but in an obvious effort not to appear a wimp, he took another few steps, before turning around, hands on his hips and an obviously false smile on his face, "Coming in Dani?" he asked, using the nickname her sister called her with a rise of a single eyebrow.

So she reached down, lifted the ends of her skirt, tucking them into her belt so that her legs were bare up to her knees and marched into the water after him. His eyes were fixed on her calves and she felt embarrassed for just a moment before she heard Cassandra call out to her, "See, Danielle, that's the spirit!" she turned and saw her mistress approaching. She was soaked, head to toe, her riding dress floating around her thighs in the water. Her hair was coming out of its braid, but her cheeks were bright and her face was drawn into a huge smile, her hazel eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunshine. It was one of the rare moments that Danielle forgot this woman was lying to everyone in Camelot and hurting her friend in the process. One of the moments Danielle actually liked Cassandra.

 **XXX**

When Cassie finally made her way out of the water, she was soaked and could barely feel her toes. She flopped next to Arthur on the velvet blanket he laid on in the sand, propped up on his elbows to give her an indulgent smile as she approached.

"Did you have a nice time?" he asked, barely containing his laughter.

She closed her eyes and nodded, only opening them when she felt someone sit on her other side. Merlin sat, elbows on his knees next to her, grinning.

"Ryan and Alex and I used to do that all the time when we were kids," she told them, we had so much fun."

"That was what you did for fun?" Merlin asked, a little incredulous and definitely amused.

Cassie laughed, "Mostly during the summer, and the water in Puerto Rico is much warmer than it is here," she shivered as a breeze came off the ocean.

"I think I packed extra clothes," she muttered to herself, standing up and making for the horses. Arthur got up after her and looked down at Merlin expectantly.

The dark haired man raised his eyebrows in question and the prince rolled his eyes. "You have to set up a tent so Cassie can change," he pointed out, like it should have been obvious. Though Merlin knew Cassie well enough to suspect she would have just changed in the woods. But he got up anyway and helped set up the tent. Cassie ended up changing in the woods.

She came back out from the trees in a dry dress, her wet hair hanging over her shoulder, already starting to curl as it dried. Arthur gave her a strange look and rolled his eyes, as the others joined them to help set up tents. There were four all together, one for the prince, another for the other three men, though that one was much smaller, another large one for Cassie and Morgana to share and a fourth for the maids.

They settled down to the dinner that Merlin and Danielle worked to heat over their small fire. Cassie leaned into Arthur, braiding her hair into a French braid.

"Will you do mine?" Leanne dropped to the sand next to the princess.

Cassie pursed her lips, "Sure, kid, c'mere," she patted her leg and the child climbed into her lap with a grin. She was surprisingly light for her height and the woman suspected the girl would have her sister's build.

Danielle brought them plates and gave Cassie one of her rare genuine smiles. She knew the maid didn't like her, but hoped to win the girl over. Kindness to her little sister was a good way to start.

Wine was passed around for everyone and Arthur held Cassie's glass with his own while she finished the little girl's hair. There was nothing to tie it with so she plucked one of the blue ribbons off her own dress to tie the end.

Leanne pulled the braid over her shoulder, playing with the silk bow. "Thank you my lady," she murmured, picking up the small plate her sister had left for her.

"You're very welcome," the princess smiled, accepting her own plate and goblet of wine from her prince, who leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"That was nice of you," he smiled, brushing his lips over her hair before returning to his plate.

She grinned and took a long drag from her wine. They finished dinner quickly, their long ride and time spent running around the beach had given them all quite the appetite. Plenty of wine had been brought and everyone was feeling the pleasant buzz by the time the sun began to set over the water in the west.

Arthur wrapped an arm around her waist, anchoring her back to his chest, his fingers at her hip as they fell silent to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, the sky turning pink and red and gold as the light disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Isn't it lovely?" she heard Gwen whisper to Lancelot next to them.

"Not in the slightest compared to you," he whispered back and Cassie couldn't contain her grin at her friend's happiness. Then Lancelot turned back to the group and raised his goblet, "A toast," he spoke and everyone raised their goblets as well, even Ryan, who had been withdrawn since he'd exited the water, only speaking to Morgana.

But Lancelot was speaking again, "To Gwen," the woman in question blushed and ducked her head, and Cassie reached out a hand around Leanne to squeeze her friend's hand, "And to our friends here, new and old," he nodded to Danielle, Ryan and Gwaine then Cassie, Arthur and Merlin, "And of course to Camelot, which has become my home," he raised his glass higher and they all did too before drinking.

Cassie caught Ryan's eyes across the fire, and held her glass out to him, " _Salud_ " she smiled, in a bit of a peace offering.

His answering smile was tentative, " _Salud_ " he responded.

The group chatted amiably for a while about an upcoming banquet in honor of some lord Uther was close with.

"Oh, Cassie, you'll sing something for us, won't you?" Morgana turned to the princess and asked.

The smaller woman scoffed, "I'm not sure Uther wants me to sing for him. Besides it's been so long since I performed, I'm not sure," she hedged.

"You sing here?" Ryan asked, eyebrows high.

"She does, very well," Gwen told him, grinning at her friend, who ducked her head at the compliment.

Ryan nodded, "Still writing too?" he asked, and she saw hope in his question.

"Yeah," she answered, "I have a ton of stuff scribbled down somewhere. I'll show you when we get back if you want?" her offer was tentative.

But he smiled, one of the first genuine ones she'd seen on him since he'd arrived in Camelot. And she grinned back. Maybe, just maybe she was getting him to understand her life here.

"Ryan, you're a musician too?" Morgana asked him and the two began discussing how he played drums. He was much more animated talking to Morgana and Cassie appreciated all the lady was doing to get him to open up.

She leaned back against Arthur who was watching her intently. "What?" she whispered.

He shook his head, "There's just so much I never knew about you," his brow was furrowed as if often was when he tried to verbalize the emotions he felt around her. Arthur was a man who was used to expressing his emotions physically. It was what made him so dangerous when he was angry and what made him such a good lover, because she could tell how much he cared for her each time he kissed or touched her. As a songwriter, Cassie had always been good with words, good at describing her feelings for him, and she loved that he tried to do the same for her.

Resting her head on his shoulder, she smiled, "It's like another life to me now. But I've known Ryan my entire life, we have a lot of memories together. I'm sure he'd love to tell you about some of the more embarrassing moments of my childhood," she felt him stir with soft laughter.

She shifted and felt Leanne's elbow dig uncomfortably into her thigh. The child had sat by the princess the entire time, leaning on her leg, and Cassie had let her. She was a sweet child and it gave Danielle some time to talk to Gwaine and Merlin who appeared to be attempting to out drink each other. That was not going to end well for Merlin, though from the looks of it, he was probably cheating.

Leanne had been dozing for the last hour at least, occasionally waking to look around and observe the adults before falling asleep again.

She was a small girl, but Cassie could feel her leg falling asleep. Danielle noticed her discomfort and rose to collect her sister into her arms with an apology that the brunette shook off, and brought Leanne into the ladies tent at Cassie's insistence. Danielle and Leanne could take her bed, since she wouldn't be sleeping in it anyway, so Gwen could have some privacy with Lancelot. She hadn't seen the man in months and it was obvious she missed him.

"You seem relieved," Arthur joked as the maid ducked into the tent and Cassie sighed and stretched her legs out, still barefoot, her toes pointing and flexing.

She shrugged, "I've just never been good with kids, it's always a relief when they go back to their caretakers," she sat back up and lifted her wine goblet to her mouth.

The blonde man gave her a sympathetic look, "It will be different when you have your own. I'm sure you'll be wonderful with our children."

Cassie choked on her wine, sputtering loudly and coughing, drawing the attention of the others around the fire. Did he just say 'our children'? It wasn't that she hadn't ever considered motherhood. Or even the fact that if she did indeed become queen of Camelot when Arthur was king, it would be expected that she produce and heir. She had thought of children to the point of going to Gaius and asking for any remedy or herb to stop herself from getting pregnant, which had been the most awkward conversation of her adult life. The man was practically her grandfather. She had just always thought of children as an abstract concept in the distant future. Hearing Arthur refer to their nonexistent children so casually was a shock. And it brought up her defenses. She wasn't even ready to marry him yet, let alone have children with him. And he spoke of it as such a certainty, like she had no say in the matter, though she knew that wasn't what he meant. Yet, she leaned away from him as she coughed the wine out of her windpipe, assuring everyone that she was fine, and had just swallowed wrong and that maybe she'd had enough wine for the night. Yet she didn't go to his tent that night, sleeping on one of the soft blankets on the sand under the stars. And in the morning when he emerged from his tent he looked confused and hurt when she avoided him. He hadn't done anything wrong, and she hated herself for punishing him for it, but she needed space. She needed to stop thinking about what the future might hold for her, the implications of his words, of their relationship, and of her destiny to change history.

 **XXX**

 _Salud_ : literally it means health, but as a toast, it's toasting to the health of everyone there. It is used the way English speakers use "cheers" as a toast.

 **A/N: I have had that last line of Arthur's planned for a WHILE. I love playing at their dynamic of misunderstanding based on being from different times. But this is definitely the start of some problems for the pair.**

 **A thank you to all who have followed and favorited. You are the reason I keep writing this.**


	13. Chapter 13: Ships In The Night

**A/N: A MASSIVE thank you to my lovely fan who reviewed. You are wonderful and quite literally made my day! Thanks also to all those who have followed and favorited. It makes me want to write more when that happens! Enjoy the chapter, it's quite a dramatic one!**

 **XXX**

Ryan had been in Camelot for almost two months, and he'd still only said a handful of words to Merlin. Which of course was why the sorcerer was suspicious of him. Ryan and Cassie were still at odds, sometimes getting along, sometimes not. Just earlier that day he had seen them in one of the lesser used banquet halls, guitar in her hand, and a upturned wooden box leaning against Ryan's knees, that he was playing like a drum, hitting with the flats of his hands. They were both singing, Ryan harmonizing in a gravely tone and Cassie taking the melody, her fingers flying over the strings of her guitar. Arthur had caught him spying, but joined him, his face turning dark when Cassie messed up one of the chords and Ryan teased her for it in Spanish. They laughed and started the song over. Cassie's voice was still beautiful, despite the fact that she rarely sang in public anymore. She and Ryan had a natural chemistry playing music together. He could tell it annoyed Arthur. The prince's fists were clenched and his eyes were hard.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked, snapping the blonde man out of his thoughts. His fists unclenched, and he shook his head, his face smoothing out.

"Yes, Merlin?" he snapped.

The dark haired man rolled his eyes, wondering why he bothered half the time. He had noticed the tension between Arthur and Cassie over the last few weeks, since they had returned from the beach trip, but even before then. Since Ryan's arrival, Cassie had been different. It was no surprise, since Ryan seemed intent on making her feel guilty for her time spent in Camelot.

"You could go in and talk to her," the warlock suggested. He could tell Cassie was hurt at the fact that Arthur was avoiding her as well. It wasn't that the prince was actively avoiding her, but he wasn't seeking her out as often either, and it hurt her. She was back to sleeping in her own bed, and looked tired constantly.

The blonde man scoffed, "I'll leave her to her music," he said and turned to stalk away down the hall. His fists were clenched again, his bad mood returned. He turned a corner and Merlin finally relaxed. Something had to be done about the prince and the princess. They were at odds and it affected everyone in the castle, Merlin especially seeing as he was so close to both of them.

He turned back to the crack in the doors through which he watched Cassie. The song they were singing was pretty, and the brunette was apparently enjoying herself. "I keep meaning to perform this one," he heard her say, then watched as she ducked her head, "I think Arthur would like it," she bit her lip.

He watched Ryan roll his eyes, "I'm pretty sure he would like anything you sang. But you know I don't like you with him. You're lying to him. Do you honestly think he would still want to be with you if he found out?" he said.

Merlin winced. So did Cassie, "Fuck you, Ryan," she spat, standing and marching out of the room, her fingers clasped so tightly around the neck of her guitar that she looked about to break it. She nearly hit him with the door on her way out. She stopped, staring at him, hurt. "Merlin," her voice was choked with tears.

"I'm sorry Cassie," he wrapped her in a hug. She hugged back and sniffled against his jacket. After a moment she pulled away.

Her smile was so forced, but he couldn't say anything, "Thank you Merlin, you're far too good to me," she put a hand over his heart, patted once. Then she swept down the hall, her skirts swishing about her.

Ryan exited after a moment. Stopping and looking Merlin over before turning to walk away. But the shorter man stopped him. Dark eyes glared down at him, but he stood his ground. "Don't you think you've hurt Cassie enough?" he demanded.

The taller man glared, "You have no idea what you're talking about," he snapped, pushing past him.

"Whatever it is that's between the two of you, she thinks of you as family and she loves you. You should fix it," Merlin called after him.

Apparently ignoring him, Ryan kept walking, his shoulders tense and his fists clenched, much like Arthur's had been only a few minutes ago. The sorcerer groaned, running his hands through his hair and over his face. Of course it was left up to him to fix everything. And of course he couldn't, not this.

 **XXX**

Morgana looked up from her reading to a tapping at her window. She looked over to see a raven sitting on her window sill, staring at her through the stained glass. She reached over and flipped the latch on the window to allow the bird entry. There was a tiny scroll tied to it's leg and the moment she removed it with gentle fingers, it flew away again. She closed the window, peeking around the courtyard to see if anyone had noticed. Apparently no one had, so she leaned back against the glass to unroll the tiny piece of paper.

It was from Morgause, she just knew, though the woman's name wasn't on it anywhere. She was to meet her at midnight, in their usual spot. The sorceress clutched the note in her fingers, a smile spreading across her pretty face. She had missed her sister, the only one who really understood her anymore. Though that wasn't true. Ryan understood feeling like an outsider. He understood feeling trapped in Camelot. She loved Arthur and Cassie and especially Gwen, but none of them understood her, and each day she felt more and more like Uther's prisoner.

Sneaking out to practice her slowly growing magic with Morgause was her rebellion. She wasn't hurting anyone, and she certainly wasn't using her magic for evil against Camelot. But she loved being able to control her powers. It made her feel less scared. And that was worth the risk of sneaking out.

A knock on her door surprised her and she clenched a fist around the crumpled piece of paper, going to open the door.

Ryan stood there, the look on his face making it clear that he and Cassie had fought. She sighed and stood back to let him in. He looked like he needed to talk and they were kindred spirits of a sort. It was hard for her to watch the two fight, but it also didn't seem like Ryan had anyone else to talk to. He stormed in and fell backwards onto her bed.

It wasn't exactly appropriate, but she chose not to say anything. He would speak when he was ready, so for the moment she simply watched him. He was handsome, with his dark, unruly hair and his deep, brown eyes. His cheekbones stood out from his face and she wondered if he had been eating right. He had full lips and she found herself wondering about him. Was he in love with Cassie? It would explain his dislike of Arthur, and his attitude towards the woman. But if he wasn't. Maybe he was open to someone else. Maybe he could accept her for who she was, magic and all. After all, he often came to her when he was upset, maybe there was something there.

"Ryan?" she sat next to him on the bed and his eyes popped open, darting to her face, his expression softening.

"Yes?" he asked, a smile, playing on his lips.

She couldn't help but smile in return, "What would you say to coming on a little adventure tonight?" she asked.

He looked her up and down, "What kind of adventure?" he asked, his eyes suspicious, but he was struggling to hide a grin.

Leaning down towards him, Morgana whispered, "A magical one," and then quickly leaned back, blushing.

Ryan's eyebrows went up, almost to his hairline. "Isn't magic illegal here?" he asked.

Morgana pushed up from the bed, letting out an annoyed sigh. "It shouldn't be," her tone may have been too passionate, but she didn't care.

He stood and joined her, "Are you telling me that you have magic?" he stood just behind her, almost too close, his hand hovering by her elbow as if he wanted to touch her but wasn't sure he could. She turned and took his hands.

"Yes." Her eyes were wild, and trusting. Weaving his fingers between hers, he smiled. He actually _smiled_. "What?" she asked.

Ryan bit his lip, "I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me this," he stared down at her, and without even thinking about it, she stretched up to kiss him. He responded immediately, taking over the kiss, moving his lips against hers, and bringing his hands into her hair to hold her head. She didn't know what to do with hers, but found herself resting them on his chest.

When he pulled back, he was grinning. Her answering smile was tentative, "Come to me, here, just before midnight," she pressed her lips to his one last time and then ushered him out the door.

Ryan walked away from Morgana's room grinning from ear to ear. He was happy, maybe for the first time since he'd arrived in Camelot, and was beginning to see the draw of staying, the way Cassie had.

 **XXX**

Locking herself in her room with her guitar and a jug of wine, stolen from the kitchens was Cassie's best coping mechanism for when she fought with Ryan. He knew her too well, and drew on every doubt she had about herself and her life in Camelot.

He was right. She lied a lot to the people there, people who were important to her. People like Arthur and Gwen and especially Morgana. And while Morgana had been such a good friend to her in the months since Ryan's arrival, Cassie had not returned the favor.

She was sure the woman was nervous about her magic and having trouble balancing her love for her sister with her love for Uther and Arthur with her fear of the consequences of having magic in Camelot. And with everything else going on, Cassie hadn't had the time to be the friend Morgana deserved.

But she also wasn't sure she was ready to be that friend. Not when she couldn't stop fighting with Ryan, her servant hated her and knew about Merlin's magic and she was still at odds with Arthur about his comment on her having children. It was a stupid thing to fight over, but they weren't even fighting, she was just avoiding him. She took a swig of the wine, making a face at the sweetness. The wine in Camelot was constantly too sweet and with too small an alcohol content to make Cassie happy. She hadn't been good and drunk in a long time. Even at Morgana's party, she hadn't had much to drink, more interested in getting back upstairs with Arthur than the ridiculous amount of wine and ale Morgana had ordered. The thought of happier times with her prince settled it for her. She was going to sneak downstairs to find some hard alcohol. There had to be something. She was going to drown her sorrows in booze. And she was going to write drunk, and it was going to be terrible, but some of her best songs were ones she'd written drunk and corrected sober.

Cassie was shocked to realize that the castle was already dark by the time she'd left her room. She'd of course spent time finishing the jug of wine, so she could use the pretense of returning the empty vessel to the kitchens to get more alcohol.

It was as she snuck out that she saw them, Morgana in her red cloak and Ryan in his borrowed clothes, slipping through the shadows. They held hands, and she could have sworn she heard the faintest giggle echo down the hallway.

Holding hands? _Giggling_? Cassie was concerned. This could not in any way be good. So she followed them. Followed them out of the castle, through the woods and back to the clearing where she and Ryan had first spied on Morgana.

Cassie hid behind a tree and watched as Morgause approached them, her stance wary. Morgana introduced Ryan, her friend, a knight from Puerto Rico, Cassie's friend. The blonde woman looked even more suspicious at the fact that Ryan was connected to the foreign princess, but said nothing.

He sat back while the two sisters practiced Morgana's magic. The brunette would tease him occasionally, making the vines she grew out of the dirt wrap his arms up, or send the stones she was moving with only her magic into his waiting hands. He looked like a child in his awe of her. Like he could watch her forever. Like he might just be in love with her.

Unable to keep watching, Cassie snuck back to Camelot, furious. She broke into Ryan's room and sat in the chair by the window, facing the door, glaring at it, waiting for him to return. His room was smaller than hers, by a lot, but still bigger than his room at home. The bed was pushed against the far wall from the door and a small table sat just in between the two. A side table sat under the window behind her, and a wardrobe and screen on the opposite wall. It was a simple room, probably just the way Ryan liked it.

Their relationship had been such a rollercoaster since he'd arrived in Camelot. He was angry with her, and she with him for the way he was with her. But they were still best friends, and they had been their entire lives. She loved Ryan like a brother and wanted to make it work with him. Sometimes they managed to put everything else aside and focus on their friendship, like when they had gone to the beach and splashed each other in the water. Or when they'd been playing one of the first songs they'd ever written together in the banquet hall earlier, Ryan teasing her for being out of practice. In those moments their silent truce allowed them to pretend they were just on a trip and everything was okay, and all of the things that had passed between them had never happened. But then there were times when she couldn't pretend. And Ryan setting himself up to break Morgana's heart was one of those.

He pushed open the door maybe an hour after she'd arrived, freezing when he saw her sitting there. For just a moment he looked panicked, but then he composed his face into an expression of annoyance, "What do you want Cassie?" he asked.

Her eyebrows shot up, "This will a much shorter conversation if you stop pretending like you have no idea why I'm here," she answered, crossing her arms.

Removing his cloak and hanging it up, he ignored her for a few moments, then he turned back to her, placing his hands on the table between them, "And since when do you have to know what I do at night?" he demanded, "I don't want to know what you do at night," the disgust in his voice was like a punch to the gut.

But she was done letting him make her feel guilty. "Don't keep making this about me. I've made my bed and I'm lying in it. What happens when you want to go home? Huh? You just leave her here? She already feels too alone because of her magic, and when you leave her, because you will, you've made your position on the matter very clear, she is going to feel more alone than ever," she snapped.

"So, what, you're allowed to make the most of your time here, but I'm not?" his voice was rising.

Cassie made a noise of frustration in the back of her throat, "You're such a _fucking_ hypocrite. You have been punishing me since you got here, because I made the decision to have a life here. You don't get to fuck with my friend's life, make her think you love her and then leave. You cannot have both," her voice rose too, on the verge of shouting.

"Oh stop pretending you're a fucking saint, you're lying to a man you claim to love. I don't lie to Morgana. We have trust. She's trusted me far more than she's trusted you, and you claim to be her friend. That's bullshit," he was full on shouting now and she shouted back.

"At least I actually have her best interests in mind! You only care about how you feel. I know that what she's doing isn't safe. That she could get killed for it. And then you go encourage her. It's selfish, Ryan," a voice in the back of her head reminded her that at this volume they would probably be heard, but she didn't care.

He slammed his hands on the table, "Oh, I'm selfish, sure. Cass, you're the one who abandoned your family. You knew how it was after they lost Alex, after we all lost Alex. Your mother was heartbroken, your father didn't sleep for weeks. And because of some blonde you put them through that again," he came around the table to tower over her, just as the doors burst open and guards, followed by Sir Leon stood in the doorway. But the two were far too furious to notice. Ryan kept going, "You didn't see your mom after you left. She was so broken. And that is entirely on you. Stop acting like you're so fucking high and mighty, when in reality you are far worse than I am,"

"Losing Alex hurt me too!" she shouted back, "It broke my heart, he was my other half! And you think I don't miss my parents and yours and your sisters every day? It kills me that I might never see them again-"

He cut her off, "Yeah, you might never see them again, but they have no idea, and that kills them. It would have been better if you were dead. Then at least they'd be able to move on!" his voice had grown quiet, venomous. His words were cruel and painful. But he was right. She had left her family, left Ryan and the band, and that had to hurt them because while she gained a new family, they got nothing but more questions. He was right and that _hurt_.

At that moment, prince Arthur walked in, alerted by a guard sent by Leon, pushing through the assembly of shocked and unsure guards, just in time to see Cassie pull her arm back and punch Ryan in the face, square in the jaw. He froze, eyes wide. Now Arthur had been punched by his princess before, and he remembered that it was not a pleasant experience. And he knew she could handle herself.

But then Sir Ryan did the unthinkable. He punched her right back, his fist coming in contact with her cheekbone, the noise accompanying it sickening. That was when the prince dated forward, his soldiers and Leon taking their cue from him, but none of them reached the fight before Cassie responded, jabbing her fist out to catch her knight in the nose, a crunch accompanying the blood that spurted from his nose, and then with a hook to the side of his head, sending him stumbling. He lunged back at her, taking her down with a cry, Cassie hitting her head with a nasty crack on the side table behind her. Arthur caught her as she slumped to the floor, dazed. Leon and two of the other guards restrained Ryan, whose fight left him almost immediately.

After checking her for injuries, Arthur, helped Cassie up and handed her to Merlin who had finally appeared, looking pale and upset. He rounded on her knight.

"How dare you," he growled, his face inches from the other man's, which was still bleeding, "I could have your head for this," his blood was boiling. How could this man who claimed to be Cassie's friend, treat her like this?

"For what, being honest with her? She's been lying to you since you met, and you're too blind to see it," Ryan's voice was thick with the blood that was running down his face, but his words were perfectly clear.

Arthur pulled back his own fist, ready to deal the man is own blows when Cassie's surprisingly calm voice stopped him, "Arthur," she was firm and he turned to look at her. Despite the fact that she had just been in a fist fight and hit her head, her eyes were sharp, and the look in them was enough to stop him. He shot one last glare at Ryan before taking her arm and leading her out of the room, Merlin trailing behind them.

"I'll wake Gaius so he can look at your head," Merlin, touched her shoulder but she shook her head.

"I don't want to see Gaius. I just want to go to bed," her tone was so defeated that neither argued, "But you should have him check out Ryan's face. His nose is definitely broken," she rubbed her knuckles almost unconsciously. The dark haired boy nodded and scampered off, up a set of side stairs towards the physician's chambers.

Arthur walked with her towards his rooms, but was surprised when she continued up the next set of stairs, heading for her own. Hesitating a moment, he decided to go after her. He wanted to talk to her, he had questions. But he held them until she pushed open the door to her chambers and entered, her prince close behind.

"Cassie?" he questioned as she went to the side table and poured herself a goblet of water. She turned and suddenly looked so tired he almost just let her sleep. But she had been avoiding him and he had questions he wanted answered. "What was that about?" he asked, his voice coming out more demanding than he intended. He could see the defensive mask take over her face and regretted his tone immediately, though he felt his own defensiveness rising.

"It was about what Ryan and I always fight about. He thinks I'm selfish and wrong for being here, and he's probably right, but I punched him in the face for it anyway," her tone was harsh.

He crossed the room to her, "He's wrong. You belong here Cassandra," he placed a hand on her arm and she pulled away immediately. He sighed, "I don't know what else you want me to say," he was frustrated. She wasn't being open with him. Ryan had even told him that she was lying to him. "I don't think you're being honest with me," he murmured.

She made a noise of annoyance and walked across the room to her bed, putting more distance between them. "Yes, Arthur, I'm lying to you, Ryan is right, but isn't the fact that I love you enough? Can't you just believe me when I say that I'm keeping things from you for your own good?" she demanded, still clearly defensive from her fight.

Arthur wished he could control his own anger, because he knew deep down this wasn't really about him, but he had never been good at that. "No," he snapped and wanted to take it back the moment he said it when he saw the stricken look on her face for the moment it was there before she changed her expression. "I want you to be honest with me. I need to know I can trust you. I _love_ you. I've asked you to _marry_ me, the least you can do is tell me the truth," the words just kept tumbling out.

"I am as honest with you as I can be. But I had a life before I met you, and you have to let me have that," she was almost begging and he pursed his lips, his doubts eating at him.

He sighed, "Fine, then lets start with something easy. Why were you even in Ryan's chambers tonight? It was the middle of the night, what were you doing there?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "I had to talk to him," her answer was too vague for him.

"About what? How long were you there?" he demanded.

Cassie's eyes narrowed at him, "I was there to talk to him about our home," she responded, but he could see the lie this time.

"You're lying, again, when all I ask is for you to be honest with me!" he was so frustrated, and tired and he had missed her these last few days.

She groaned in her own frustration, "Arthur, Ryan is a part of my life, I've known him my entire life. He held me when I was a newborn and he was three, I have a history with him-"

"Do you love him?" he demanded, cutting her off.

"Not the way I love you," she snapped back.

"Then why can't you be honest with me?" he asked, at the end of his rope, "I love you, and I want you to trust me. I want to be there for you."

Cassie rounded on him, "You can't. You can't be there for me because there is so much more to my life than you understand, than you can ever understand," she was shouting again, "I can't keep pretending like you aren't in the dark about most of my life," he could tell by her expression that she hadn't meant the words as soon as the left her mouth, but the damage was done.

"So that's it. You don't love me enough to let me into your life. Or you just don't think you can. Did you ever intend to marry me? To be my queen? Because I kept thinking things would change. But maybe you're right. This isn't going to work. I need a queen I can trust, and I certainly can't trust you," he knew he was hurting her, twisting the knife that her childhood friend had inserted. But he was hurt too, and he didn't even understand what had happened to the woman he loved since her friend had joined her in Camelot.

"Arthur," he heard her voice break, but he looked away.

"You should get Gaius to look at your head," he added softly. Then he turned and walked out of the room. His head hurt and all he wanted was to sleep. But he knew he would be up tossing and turning all night, plagued by thoughts of Cassie and everything he had just said that had nicely ruined their relationship.

As for Cassie, she stared after him for a few moments before going to shut the door. The room was relatively dark already, only a candle or two left burning. Her head was buzzing, but she wasn't going to let Gaius look at it. She'd already had a bad enough day. So she got herself out of her dress, kicked off her boots and socks, pulled on the shirt of Arthur's she'd stolen after a night she slept in it, crawled into bed and finally allowed herself to cry herself to sleep.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: Disclaimer: I do not condone violence to solve disputes at all in any way.**

 **HOWEVER, I worry that this chapter may make readers dislike Ryan specifically because he punched Cassie. But I would like to be clear. She punched him too. In fact SHE PUNCHED HIM FIRST. So she is equally (if not more) to blame for the situation. I really don't like the double standard in society where it's okay for women to hit men and beat up on them, but men cannot hit women, nobody should be allowed to hit anybody! Both Cassie and Ryan were assholes in this chapter. They were both selfish and they were both hypocritical. Neither are perfect and that is why we love them.**

 **That being said, I really looked forward to posting this. It is one of my favorites in the entire fic. So I hope you like it too! And while yes, this was sad, there's more angst coming. But you know me. There'll be fluff later, promise!**


	14. Chapter 14: If Your Heart Wears Thin

**A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed! This chapter is a two-parter and tackles something of the original King Arthur Legend. Enjoy!**

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When Cassie woke the next morning, the buzzing in her head had turned to pounding and she felt groggy from lack of sleep. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her cheekbone throbbed and all she wanted to do was burrow deeper into her blankets and go back to sleep.

But sleep had eluded her the night before, always just out of reach. In the week since she'd stopped sleeping in his bed, Cassie had discovered that she had trouble sleeping on her own.

Looking out the window, she could tell it was still early. Probably around the time the servants got up. So she pushed back the covers and got up, changing into a riding dress and a pair of pants underneath. As much as she disliked horses, she had to get away from the castle. She hurried down the stairs, ducking her head to avoid the curious looks from the servants. She was sure she looked awful. Her cheek was painfully swollen where Ryan had punched her and she had no doubt it was purplish in color. As much as it hurt, she probably deserved it. She had pushed all his buttons during that fight, and berated him for making the best of his time in Camelot, which was exactly what she had done during her first trip. She was just worried about Morgana.

Though the fight with Ryan raced through her head as the stable boy helped her prepare her horse, the fight that was really still hurting her was the one she'd had with Arthur. She knew they'd both said things they didn't mean. They both had trouble controlling their tempers, but it had still cut deep. He had essentially broken up with her, though their relationship had always been a bit unconventional, even by her standards, so she couldn't be entirely sure.

Either way, she needed to fix it, because she knew Arthur and if anyone was more stubborn than she was, it was him. They were quite a pair.

She rode out of Camelot as fast as she could stand, her nerves still a bit shaky when on a horse. The moment she entered the woods, much of the tension still in her shoulders and back left her, and she tried to focus on the greenery around her. The sun was still climbing its way into the sky, and the light around her was gold, making the entire forest seem ethereal and warm, despite the cold breeze of the beginnings of winter.

With a little effort she managed to slow the horse to a walk so she could enjoy the nature around her at a less nerve wracking pace. Breathing deeply, she allowed the horse to wander along the trail, one she was fairly sure she was familiar with from previous rides, and lost herself in thought.

When she came upon a small brook, she knew she was in the same place she'd first gone on a ride with Arthur and Morgana to. At the time she'd thought the prince an arrogant prick. But he had sort of saved her life, so she had forgiven him for his rudeness.

Dismounting she tied the reins of the horse to a tree, and sat down next to the brook, staring into the slowly moving water. It was so clear and looked cold, but fresh. It was one of the things she loved most about being back in time. This was long before the buzz of machines or cell phones interrupted every silent moment. Before factories and trash polluted the water, and before people on TV worried about carbon emissions and climate change, before TV. There were things she missed about the future, definitely, but there were things she certainly didn't miss. Camelot had always seemed simpler. Not that it did anymore, but that was her own fault.

A noise in the brush across the stream, snapped her head up, and she looked around for the source of the rustling. After a moment a hooded head emerged, followed by a cloaked body. The old woman stared at her with dark eyes that seemed far too alert for her face.

"Help me over the brook child?" she requested after a moment.

Cassie rose and stepped over the brook to take the woman's arm and help her across the small stream. She was so tiny and frail that Cassie probably could have picked her up and hauled her over the brook. Instead, she led the woman slowly to cross the brook on the stones that stuck up out of it. It was a little strange that an old woman would be out in the middle of the woods alone, but she thought it best not to ask questions.

"Thank you," the woman yanked her arm out of Cassie's the moment her feet were on solid ground again.

"Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked, keeping her tone respectful, despite wanting to get back on her horse and riding until she couldn't think about her fight with Arthur and Ryan anymore.

The woman studied her, "What happened?" she asked, indicating the young woman's cheek with a spindly, bony finger.

"My best friend punched me in the face," she snapped in return. She didn't want to think about the fight with Ryan, or the fact that his entire face probably hurt like hell.

One of the woman's eyebrows went up, and she shook her head, "Maybe you are not as good a friend as you think?"

Brow furrowing, Cassie stared down at the woman. This was none of the old lady's business, "You don't know me. What gives you the right to make assumptions about my friendships?"

The old woman smiled to reveal a few missing teeth and Cassie pursed her lips. Clearly this was some batty old lady who couldn't keep her opinions to herself.

"Have a nice day," the fake princess snapped, her tone not nice in the slightest, and turned to untie the reins of her horse.

"Oh I intend to," the woman's voice sounded strange but when she turned, there was no one there. After looking around the brunette decided she couldn't be bothered and that the woman had disappeared into the woods. She climbed back on her horse and rode until she could convince herself to go back to Camelot and face the music.

She walked the horse through a field that overlooked the castle, moving with the animal. Something she had gotten better at the more time she spent in Camelot. Though she missed her car. For the briefest of seconds she considered returning home when they figured out a way for Ryan to return.

Merlin was working on it, as was Gaius. She wanted him to ask the dragon, which he could since he was a Dragon Lord apparently, but the look in his eyes each time she brought it up was enough to stop her. But she didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay in Camelot. She just wanted everything to return to normal. Though she doubted that was possible at this point.

So instead, she decided she was going to apologize to Arthur, and try to find a way to be more honest with him. He had read the letter she left him when she went back home, but he mostly ignored the fact that it had ever existed. She had told him she wasn't really a princess, but he still referred to her as one. She had been too nervous to bring it up when she returned, worried about breaking the fragile happiness they achieved. But she wondered if she should have pushed the issue, since now he pretended like he didn't know. Or maybe he just pushed it out of his head when he tried to forget her.

It was almost noon when she returned, passing the horse off to one of the stable boys with a thank you. She was starving, having skipped breakfast, and hurried to the kitchens to try to sneak something to snack on instead of bothering with a full lunch. Maybe she could ask one of the kitchen staff to bring her and Arthur lunch in his rooms. She was determined to fix what she had broken last night. She would even ask Merlin to heal Ryan's broken nose in an attempt to be nice.

She was able to snag a piece of bread from the breakfast leftovers, before she hurried upstairs to go see Arthur.

"Enter" he called when she knocked and she poked her head in to see him going over paperwork on his table. He glanced up at her and his reaction was surprisingly controlled. The smile he gave her was tight, and his fingers clenched around the quill he was holding. But otherwise there was no change in his demeanor, "Cassandra, come in," he leaned back from the table. His tone was strange, particularly the way he said her full name. Just a few days ago it was full of emotion, punctuating each syllable with how much he cared for her. Now, it seemed stiff and formal. Her heart hurt at the thought that he would begin to treat her as if she had never mattered to him.

"I wanted to come talk about last night," she closed the door behind her and walked up to his table, looking down at him while he avoided her gaze.

"Cassie," he finally looked up at her, his eyes, which for so long had been her favorite of his features, were empty and devoid of any emotion. Either he'd been taking lessons from his father on how to bottle up emotions, something was wrong. "It's alright. I understand you were upset. I hope we can put it behind us in the future and remain friends."

Friends? Since when had they ever just been friends. "It's not alright. At all. You were right, I haven't been as honest with you as I could and that's not fair," she dropped into the chair next to him and leaned her arms on the table, "I don't want to be your friend, Arthur, I still love you, that hasn't changed," she put her hands over his empty one, the hand closer to her, curling her fingers around his palm.

He gently pulled his hand back, as if he didn't want to hurt her and sighed, "Cassandra," again, her name sounded so flat on his lips, "I don't love you anymore. I don't think I have for some time," he finally looked at her, and she saw the apathy in his eyes.

But she wouldn't believe it, "What the fuck are you talking about?" she asked, more confused than anything, "Last night you fought me because you said you loved me and just wanted me to be honest with you. That's what I'm here trying to do!"

Arthur pursed his lips, as if he was unsure of how exactly to respond, "Last night made me realize that I don't love you like I used to, and that it was time for me to move on."

Now she was getting angry, this was too fast, "What do you mean, move on? To what? Can't you see there's something not right here? You don't just fucking stop loving someone overnight. That's bullshit."

His face hardened and she could tell she'd said the wrong thing, "Cassie, I haven't loved you in some time, it just took last night to finally convince me. The only thing not right here, is the way you're speaking to me." His voice became dangerous, and she knew she shouldn't push him. He would just hurt her more. Something was wrong, and she was going to fix it.

With tears pricking at the backs of her eyes she stood, "Well then thank you for making that clear to me," she snapped and hurried out the door before he could see her cry.

She hurried back to her own rooms where Danielle was gathering laundry. "I want to be alone, please," she said to the girl, who looked at her curiously, but nodded and left. As soon as the door closed behind her suspicious servant, Cassie was pacing.

There had to be something wrong. This was unlike the other time he had been enchanted to be in love with someone else. But maybe he was being forced to pretend like he wasn't in love with her. It could be his father, pressuring him to distance himself. But that wasn't right either. Arthur wouldn't have listened. He would have told her the truth and they would have faked it for the sake of the king. Maybe he didn't want her to be fighting with Ryan anymore and he realized that he was a source of the conflict between the two lifelong friends, so opted to remove himself from the equation. But that didn't make sense either. Arthur handled things head on, and if he knew Ryan had an issue with him, he would have spoken to Ryan to try to fix it.

As she paced, she tried to think of anything that could explain this, other than the obvious. She was so lost in thought that when a knock on her door sounded she almost missed it. The knock came again and she shook herself before opening it to reveal a very nervous looking Gwen, ringing her hands, eyes cast downwards.

"Gwen, what is it?" Cassie had calmed herself enough that her voice came out mostly kind, with a slight edge of nerves she hoped her friend didn't pick up on. From the terrified look on Gwen's face, it was clear she did. "Come in," Cassie opened the door wider and stepped back so the other woman could enter. She did and stood just inside the door as the smaller woman closer it behind her. She was still nervous, and Cassie forced a smile, "You can tell me whatever it is," she encouraged, taking the other woman's hands.

"I don't know how to say this," Gwen started, "But I thought you needed to know. You have been such a good friend to me, and I didn't think it fair to keep this from you." Cassie's heart sank. Something was wrong. "I know that this will hurt you and I want you to know that it was never my intention," she continued, "But I cannot deny how I feel. Arthur and I cannot deny how _we_ feel."

Gwen's words hit her like a ton of bricks. "And how exactly do you and Arthur feel?" she asked through clenched teeth, her voice choked.

"We have very strong feelings for each other," she looked like it physically pained her to get this out, but it was nothing compared to how Cassie felt. "I love him," Gwen added, "And he loves me."

At that moment doubt came flooding in. Cassie knew that she and Arthur had been in a rough patch more or less since Ryan had arrived in Camelot. It wasn't hard to see how this could have happened. Cassie drew away from Arthur, and Gwen had been there for him. She couldn't even fault the girl for loving him she understood exactly how it felt.

"What about Lancelot?" she asked, remembering just a few weeks ago how he and Gwen had been that day at the beach once he had returned.

The serving girl winced, "Lancelot was away for a very long time. Feelings change," she looked so guilty in that moment that the princess felt bad for her.

"Well thank you for being honest with me," she managed, wanting the girl to leave so she could process.

But Gwen didn't move, her face conflicted, "Cassie, I am sorry that this has hurt you so. But if anyone, especially the king were to find out…" she trailed off, her implications clear. If the king were to find out he would be furious, and they would not be able to continue their relationship. For a split second the thought appealed to her. But she couldn't do that to either of them.

"I understand. Your secret is safe," she nodded.

Gwen smiled, "Thank you," she clearly meant it, then hurried for the door again, before turning, "I hope your cheek feels better," and then she was gone.

As soon as the door was closed, she let her anger out, picking up one of the knives Danielle kept on a side table for her meals and lobbing it at the door. It struck handle first and clattered to the floor. She snatched up another one and threw it too. This time it landed in the door, blade digging deep into the wood.

She whirled, looking for something else to throw, something to stab, something satisfying that could help her release her anger at everyone. At Gwen, and Ryan and especially Arthur. If he hadn't been in love with her, then why hadn't he said anything? She wasn't some silly, fragile girl, she faced problems head on and he knew that about her.

His words from the night before echoed in her head. How she couldn't be honest with him. How he needed a queen he could trust. How he loved her and she was hurting him. Maybe this was her punishment.

Cassie tore her room to shreds, the pillows everywhere, curtains yanked off their rods, papers for her education project, which had taken a serious backseat since Ryan's arrival, strewn across the floor, all of her silverware either on the table or buried in the wood of the door. Her sword was on the floor, after she'd hacked at the air with it until she felt a bit better.

She'd been tempted to smash her guitar, but she knew she would regret it immediately. So instead she settled on her messy bed and began to play, funneling all her anger and frustration into her music. Everything she wrote was awful, and after maybe an hour she fell into a fitful sleep.

 **XXX**

Merlin couldn't believe his own eyes. He went as far as to pinch himself. He was awake, but there was no way the scene in front of him could be real. Gwen was not wrapped in Arthur's arms, his lips pressed to hers. There was no way it could really be happening. He backed away, trying to leave the room so he could restart his brain, but bumped into the door, making it creak loudly. The two broke apart and stared at him, the guilt in both their faces solidifying this moment as very, very real.

"What-" was all he could manage, his voice cutting off in his overwhelming shock.

"You can't tell anyone," Gwen begged, her eyes wide.

"Tell anyone about what? What is this?" the dark haired boy demanded, more than a little confused. Suddenly Cassie popped into his head. She had to know. It would make him a terrible friend not to tell her. Though she might murder Arthur and mess up his whole destiny thing. And Lancelot, he would be heartbroken.

The prince rolled his eyes, "Isn't it a bit obvious Merlin?" he demanded, glaring at his servant, who shook his head, "Guinevere and I obviously… have feelings… for each other," he seemed to be struggling to describe it, but Gwen clearly found it endearing.

"What about Cassie? Lancelot?" their friend demanded.

The guilty looks returned to their faces. "They know," Gwen told him, "We wanted to be honest with them," she nodded, glancing back up at Arthur for reassurance. He nodded with an indulgent smile.

"I-I don't understand, Arthur just last night you told me how much Cassie keeping things from you bothered you because of how much you loved her," Merlin was completely at a loss to explain this. It seemed almost like magic, but neither Gwen nor Arthur were acting like they were enchanted. In fact they seemed completely normal.

"Yes, Merlin, I did, at one point, love her. But I don't anymore," his tone was so final that Merlin could have no doubt that he absolutely meant that.

"Alright, well, um, here's dinner," he dropped the tray on the table and ran from the room. Cassie's room was closer than Lancelot's, so that was where he went first. He banged his fist on her door. Then banged again. She didn't answer. He shoved the door open to see her on the bed, curled up. Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of his entrance.

"Merlin?" she asked, "What're you doing here?"

He closed the door behind him and came to sit on the edge of her bed, "I heard," was all he said, but she already knew.

"It's weird to you too right?" she begged, "It's not just me. This is crazy, right?" she asked.

He nodded, "Just last night, Arthur was angry because you were hurt and keeping things from him. He told me how much he loves you," the sorcerer insisted.

The princess sighed, "I just-" she cut off, frustrated, "Like I can't be mad, because it's Gwen, and I want her happiness, but at the same time, I'm really fucking mad!" her fingers fisted in the fabric of the comforter on her bed.

Merlin patted her shoulder, "It's some sort of magic. It has to be," he promised. She looked unconvinced. "Would you like to come with me to talk to Lancelot? We'll see if he's noticed anything strange of how Gwen's acting," he invited, knowing that Cassie felt better if she could do something to be helpful.

She nodded and climbed off the bed. She was a little rumpled, but he didn't think anyone would notice. He led the way out of the room and she remained silent as they made their way through the halls. She was the one to knock on Lancelot's door, and he opened it with the stormiest of looks on his face. Though his features softened when he saw the two people outside his door.

"You've heard, I presume," he stood aside to let them in, and the look in his eyes must have brought Cassie back to life, because she was suddenly back to herself. She was going to plan.

"Clearly something weird is up," she strode to his table and turned to lean against it. Lancelot's room was even smaller than Ryan's was. Proof that Uther didn't like having knights that weren't nobles of Camelot around.

"Something, for certain," Lancelot agreed.

"I think they're enchanted," Merlin put in and the other two looked at him, both skeptical, "The change is too sudden. It's a complex enchantment, because it gave them new memories, instead of either replacing old ones or having them fall in love for the first time," he looked between the two to test his theory.

Finally Cassie answered, "It would appear that Arthur has been out of love with me for some time, so that part stands," she nodded, the tiniest glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Merlin grinned, "So we just need to find the spell. I'm sure there has to be something in Gaius' books," Lancelot still looked skeptical.

"We should at least look. Just in case. I mean it's not like they can do that much more damage than they already have," she pointed out.

"Fine," came the knight's grudging answer.

The three left Lancelot's room and spread out across Gaius' chambers. Merlin explained the situation to the old man who seemed confused, but spared sympathetic looks for the pair of spurned lovers at his table. They each took a book and began to read through the sections on love spells. Of course Merlin ended up with the one that was only love spells.

They hadn't been reading very long when Morgana burst in, slightly taken aback that everyone was in there, but quickly moving past it, "Arthur has just been caught by the king kissing Gwen in his chambers." She informed them.

Merlin groaned, Lancelot winced and Cassie rolled her eyes.

"He's such a dumbass," the princess muttered under her breath.

But no one was surprised, which Morgana noticed.

"Will someone please tell me what in gods name is going on here? And why I wasn't informed?" she demanded.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: So if anyone is curious. One of the oldest stories of King Arthur, and what many scholars attribute as the first King Arthur story is be Geoffrey of Monmouth (who is a character on the show, he's the librarian!). However, Guinevere's thing with Lancelot was added later by Chretien de Troyes, a 12** **th** **century French writer. So a little history for you too!**


	15. Chapter 15: When It Gets Too Much

**A/N: Oh my god, a MILLION thank yous to all who reviewed and followed and favorited and read. I love you all! Everyone is understandably upset with Ryan (and with good reason. He's being a douche. But he's still Cassie's best friend and that makes him redeemable. Just wait for it) Enjoy this chapter! It's REALLY long.**

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Morgana was horrified when they told her. She was positive it had to be some sort of mistake, trickery, her voice trembled on the word magic. Clearly she was still conflicted on being honest with all of her friends about her abilities and her training.

And that was when it hit Cassie. Morgana's training with Morgause. The creepy old lady in the woods. She would bet anything the old woman and Morgana's half sister were the same person. Somehow through magic, Morgause had caused this.

The pressure against her ribs immediately faded. Her nerves were still rubbed raw, and she was definitely far from forgiving Arthur entirely. But this gave her a purpose.

"Okay, we have to do damage control on this. Morgana, you go keep an eye on them, Uther would listen to you before he would any of us. Whatever you can do to stop this from turning into a disaster, you have to," Cassie begged.

The other woman nodded, "I'll do what I can," she turned and hurried back out of Gaius' chambers.

Lancelot slammed his book shut, "There is nothing here," he growled. Cassie could understand his frustration. She was desperate to undo the magic that had Arthur and Gwen in love so she could begin to repair her own relationship with the prince.

"We have to keep looking. The sooner we can snap them out of this, the less danger they'll be in," she reminded him, "Merlin, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, gesturing to his room.

He nodded and followed her up, "What is it?" he asked, able to sense her tension.

She pushed the door closed partway so they had a little privacy, "I think I know who did this," she told him.

"Who?" he looked shocked.

Cassie winced, "Well this morning I went on a ride and I was kinda rude to this old lady, but something was off about her anyway, but I didn't really think about it till now, but I'm pretty sure it was Morgause. She must have found out I know she's here and decided to fuck with me."

Merlin processed for a moment, "Can we trust Morgana?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I think so. It seems like she has no idea. But sooner or later Uther is gonna figure out they're enchanted. And then we're really going to have a problem," she reminded him.

Then they heard Gaius' door slam, and rushed to see who it was. They found an empty room. "Lancelot," Merlin groaned and both rushed out after him. They heard his footsteps echo all the way to the council chambers and hurried in after him as he burst through the door.

The sight that met their eyes was complete chaos. Arthur was shouting at his father, Guards were dragging Gwen away from them and Morgana was shouting at everyone. Lancelot laid eyes on Arthur, and lunged towards the prince, whose back was turned.

"You!" he snarled, as Leon managed to catch him and haul him backwards. The knight looked at Cassie in surprise, questioning what was going on. She shook her head, her eyes communicating that she had little better idea than he did.

The prince whirled around, his eyes narrowing on the group in the doorway.

"What the hell is going on here?" Cassie demanded, her voice rising above the struggling and yelling around her.

Uther glared at her, both for her interruption, her use of language and the fact that he didn't trust the foreign princess. Though it seemed he wasn't alone in that these days.

But Morgana spoke before he could, "Oh thank god you're here," she hurried over to the princess, "Uther decided it was sorcery, which I thought was good, so he wouldn't punish Gwen. Then he decided it was Gwen's sorcery, and he's having her burned at the stake, I don't know what to do," she was panicked.

Cassie held back a groan, "Okay, lets see what we can do," she looped her arm through the lady's and approached the king, "My lord," she curtsied deeply, making sure to fully rise again before speaking, in order to be respectful. "Both Morgana and I know Gwen, very well. We believe that she is also under an enchantment, that both Guinevere and Arthur are the victims of this sorcery," she glanced between the two. Gwen looked grateful and Arthur annoyed, "We think it would be best to focus our efforts on finding a way to end the enchantment" she pushed.

The king stood, "This is the work of her sorcery. She will die and the enchantment will end," his voice was final.

"No!" Arthur shouted, lunging for Gwen who was screaming, terrified.

Lancelot began to fight Leon, who finally lost his grip and had to chase the other knight down before he could do anything he might regret.

Morgana clutched Cassie's arm, but at the moment there was nothing they could do. So Cassie dragged her friend out of the room, indicating to Merlin with her eyes that he should follow.

The three left the room, hoping that Leon and the other guards would handle it. Just outside the doors Cassie stopped them, "Morgana, speak to Uther, try to calm down Arthur and Lancelot, you have to help them. Merlin and I will figure out how to break the spell," Cassie instructed. The other woman looked like she was about to argue, but the princess grabbed Merlin's arm and dragged him down the hall. They had to confer with Gaius, and figure out how to break the love spell.

The physician was just as upset as they were, "Uther will certainly execute Gwen. He may even if we find the cure," he pointed out.

"Arthur will convince him not to. Even once he's not under the spell, he still knows Gwen isn't a sorcerer," Merlin argued.

But his guardian shook his head, "Uther thinks Arthur is under a spell, he's going to think whatever he says is because of the enchantment!"

"He's right," Cassie put in, "We need to figure out a way to prove it wasn't Gwen. And we have to figure out how to break the spell," it seemed like they needed more help than they had. As their allies slowly lost their minds, their strategies were dwindling.

"We have no idea where Morgause is. She could be gone from Camelot by now," Gaius added.

The princess agreed, "And if we told Uther it was her, Morgana would know we're on to her. And I don't think she's ready to tell anyone about her magic yet."

Merlin glared between the two of them, neither seemed to have any solutions to offer, only problems. Then he had an idea, "Well if we can't find the real sorcerer, we'll just invent one," he grinned. Two pairs of eyebrows rose. "Well do either of you have a better idea?"

"Merlin, we can't just point at thin air and say, oh that sorcerer did it!" she pointed out, "Uther's bigoted, not stupid."

He shrugged as if it was a minor inconvenience, "Then I'll do it,"

Gaius gave him a hard look, "Don't you think Uther will recognize you?"

The younger man rolled his eyes, "Not if I'm disguised," he looked at Cassie, "You said Mrogause appeared to you as an old woman, right?" the woman nodded, "Uther will never recognize me if I'm eighty years old!" he began to dig through one of the spell books. It was actually not a terrible plan.

"Aging spells are very difficult," Gaius worried. Merlin scoffed.

"Wait what about breaking the love spell?" Cassie asked.

The young sorcerer glared at her, "Do I have to do everything?" he asked.

She sighed, "No, I'll figure it out," she sat at one of the benches and resumed digging through the spell books for love spells of any sort.

Merlin worked up in his room and Cassie and Gaius poured over love spells. After what felt like forever and was probably really no more than a half hour she dropped her head back and groaned. Gaius looked over at her.

"I don't even know where to start!" she exclaimed, "There are hundreds of love spells and all of them have different bases, there are some that involve a lock of hair, and some that use pixie dust, and some that involve something called a poultice, which sounds like a venereal disease," she made a face.

Gaius gave her a stern look, "A poultice is a pouch, usually full of herbs or powders. They are commonly used in spells," he told her.

"Okay, but that's my point! I have no idea what spell Morgause used on Arthur and Gwen, so I have no idea how to break it!"

The physician nodded, "Then we must check. If a poultice or a lock of hair have been used, there will be evidence, usually under the pillow of those affected," he paused, "And pixie dust leaves a fine shimmery residue on those who have been enchanted by it," he added.

"Okay, then we go check. I'll do Arthur's room, I know it like the back of my hand. I'll look for any evidence Morgause was there," she stood, "You go to Gwen's, see what you can find. Meet me back here so we can figure out what we have to do," he nodded and she swept out of the room.

The guards on either side of Arthur's hallway told her he was in there and his father wasn't happy with him. She sighed. She didn't really want to deal with him. But there wasn't any other option. She knocked once, before pushing the door open. The prince stood by the window, his arms crossed, staring down at the courtyard. He turned his head at her entrance, his body tensing, then relaxing as he registered it was her.

"How're you holding up?" she asked, hating herself for it. She should be furious, but instead she just felt bad for him. He turned to her, facing her and the look on his face broke her heart. He looked so lost and so sad, and it was over another girl.

"You're going to do something aren't you?" he asked, "You're going to try to save her?"

Cassie sighed and went to him, taking his hands. He let her. "Of course I am," she ran her thumbs over his knuckles, "Gwen is my friend, despite what's going on here, I would never want to see her die. I can't let her. And I know that I'll never live up to the person you used to love if I just let this happen," she blinked back tears.

He frowned, like something was pulling at him, something was wrong, but when he drew his hands away his face smoothed out, "Thank you," he said, reaching up a hand as if to touch her still bruised cheek, then pulling it back.

"Of course," she forced a smile, her eyes roaming his face for the shimmery residue left by pixie dust. He was still watching her. There was no way she could check his room too thoroughly. So when he turned away from her, she cast her eyes around, trying to find any evidence that Morgause had been there. Her gaze landed on his water pitcher and the goblets that sat next to it. Two of them were rimmed with just the slightest hint of purple. She knew enough about Gretta, the large woman who ran the kitchens to know that she would have never let goblets out of her kitchen that weren't perfectly spotless. Especially not ones for the prince. Checking to make sure Arthur was back to staring out the window, she swiped one of the goblets and hid it in the folds of her dress to make an exit. She still wanted to check Arthur's bed, and under his pillows, but she couldn't without arousing suspicion. But she knew someone who could.

Danielle gave her a skeptical look at her request.

"Please, look, I know you don't like me," the redhead made no protest at that statement, "But I can tell you like Gwen. And this is for her. We're trying to save her life. You and I both know she's not a sorcerer. I just need you to go change prince Arthur's sheets and then while you're there, just look for anything unusual. Anything that could be used for a love spell," she begged.

"I don't know what things are used in love spells," the girl pointed out. But it wasn't a no.

She described the options to the servant and thanked her before sending her on her way. Then she hurried back up to the physician's chambers the goblet still clutched in her hand. Gaius had returned with nothing, but seemed very interested in her findings. He used a small tool to scrape whatever the purple residue was off the edge of the cup. It came off with some difficulty.

"Can you tell what it is?" she asked.

The physician sniffed it, "It appears to be a powder made with rosemary and lavender, and an ingredient I cannot identify," he looked at it under his magnifying glass, then sniffed it again, "It appears to be a liquid component, somewhat like blood," he looked horrified. Even Cassie knew blood magic was not to be fucked with.

Then she remembered something from the book, "Wait," she hurried back to the table the book was on and began flipping through it, finally finding what she had been looking for. She smoothed her hands over the pages and began to read, "Blood of the mourning dove is a potion made of lavender, rosemary, tears of a heartbroken woman and the blood of two mated mourning doves. It will form a deep bond of love between whoever's lips it touches," she looked up at Gaius, "The purple was on two glasses. Gwen and Arthur must have drank from them. And now they're in love."

"Does the book say how to break the enchantment?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder as she read further down the page.

"This spell captures the heart of those affected, and can only be broken by the pure love of another," she looked up, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Gaius made to answer, but they were interrupted by the opening of Merlin's door. Except instead of Merlin standing at the top stair, there was a wizened old man with long white hair and a long white beard.

"Holy shit," Cassie breathed.

The old man grinned, "Huh, do I look that different?" he asked, making his way slowly down the stairs, as if his joints bothered him. They probably did, he looked ancient.

"You do," Gaius agreed, looking hard at the man in front of him, trying to decide if he looked anything like the boy he knew.

"You two know me better than anyone, will it fool Arthur?" he asked, looking between them.

His guardian considered him. "There's something of you in the eyes, but maybe that's because I know it's you," he squinted at the boy.

"I think you'll fool him. He isn't thinking straight as is," Cassie pointed out.

Merlin suddenly caught sight of himself in a mirror on the wall, and hobbled closer to stare, "I can't believe one day I'll actually look like this," he murmured, and his voice was scratchy with age.

"If you live that long," the princess stood, "Promise you'll be careful, I don't want to have to bust you out of jail instead of Gwen," she smiled.

He returned it and then stretched, his joints cracking, "Did you find how to lift the spell?" he asked.

Cassie made a face, "Something about the pure love of another. I have no idea what it means. I can work on that, but we need to have a plan for you. How are you going to get caught casting a love spell that's already in effect?" she asked.

"I can get caught planting the ingredients for the spell," he suggested.

"Oh, Gaius, make him one of those poultice things, that's pretty inescapable evidence of magic," she put in.

The old man frowned, but made the poultice. He handed it to the now ancient man, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked, his fatherly concern seeping into his words.

The old man nodded.

"And you know how to turn back into a Merlin right?" the princess asked.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes," he snatched a walking stick from next to the door and was about to open it when it burst inwards and Danielle nearly bowled him over in her haste to get inside.

"Cassandra," she started and then caught sight of the old man standing between Gaius and the princess. "Who are you?" she asked him.

"The sorcerer we got to take the fall for Gwen, over this whole love spell thing," Cassie grinned. It certainly wasn't the best plan they'd ever come up with, but it also wasn't the worst.

Danielle squinted at him, her eyes boring into his, "Merlin?" she asked, sounding shocked and maybe a little impressed.

"Did you find anything?" Cassie asked before the sorcerer could answer.

The servant shook her head, "No, there was nothing in the prince's bed. No trace of a spell," she looked back at Merlin with concern, "Is your plan to have Merlin executed instead?" she asked.

"No," the sorcerer spoke, "I will turn back into myself before they can execute me, then Gwen will be free and as far as the king is concerned, the sorcerer responsible escaped," he sounded fairly confident in his plan, but it was hard to tell because of the creakiness in his voice. With that he hobbled out of the room.

The three looked at each other, only hoping that he would be okay, before beginning to work on breaking the enchantment.

 **XXX**

When Cassie and Gaius were called down to the council chambers, they knew something had gone wrong. Danielle trailed behind them, playing with the end of her braid in her nervousness. Half the court was gathered in the high ceilinged room. The king sat in his ornately carved chair and Morgana fiddled nervously with her hands to his left. They were some of the last to arrive and the princess went to join her friend.

A moment later the doors burst open and in walked Arthur, with two guards behind him. Between the guards was a wizened old man. Cassie had to physically stop herself from groaning aloud. Of course Merlin's genius plan hadn't gone right. That was apparently too much to ask of the universe.

"Father," Arthur strode towards the throne, "I discovered this sorcerer planting this in my chambers," he held up the poultice that Gaius had made. So that part had gone to plan, it seemed like the whole escape part hadn't.

The king held out his hand, "What is this?" he examined it as Arthur handed it to him and turned to Gaius, "Could it be used for magic?" he asked

The physician pretended to examine the object, "I believe so, sire," he handed the poultice back to the king. Uther glared at it before looking up at the old man in front of him.

"Are these accusations true?" he asked. His tone was surprisingly fair for a man who hated magic so avidly.

"Yes," came Merlin's scratchy old man voice.

The king narrowed his eyes, "You are the reason for Arthur's emotions for this serving girl?" he clarified.

The old man nodded back at him, "I cursed them both to fall in love," he sneered and Cassie wondered if this was actually cathartic for him.

"What did you hope to achieve?" Uther stood and stepped up to the sorcerer.

Merlin paused, clearly unsure of what to say. Despite being able to keep many secrets from Arthur, he wasn't terribly quick to think up a lie, "I hoped to bring shame on Camelot. That the prince might denounce his title, and leave Camelot without a future ruler." But apparently once he got going, his lies were pretty decent. Until he started ranting, "You have persecuted those who use magic for decades!" he snapped, "Magic is not evil, only men are evil, men like you!"

She winced, watching for the king's reaction, but it was Arthur who stepped up to the man and pointed his sword at the sorcerer's throat, "You will show some respect," he commanded.

But the old man version of Merlin wasn't done, it actually seemed like he was enjoying himself, "Respect?" he sounded indignant, "I have heard how little respect you have, especially for your servants! They do everything for you and what thanks do they get? You don't know respect! You are a spoiled, foolish boy!"

At this point Cassie has hiding her smile behind her hand. It wasn't really funny, because Merlin was actually in danger, but he seemed to be so thoroughly enjoying himself, she couldn't help it.

"Enough!" Uther shouted, causing all eyes to return to him, "You have been found guilty of using sorcery, you will be burned at the stake tomorrow in the girl's place," he commanded.

Merlin sneered once more and was dragged away from the king by guards. He met Cassie's eyes and his expression changed to one that belied his fear. She and Gaius had some work to do. They filed out of the council chambers, pretending calm, but once they were away from others, Danielle grabbed Cassie's arm.

"We have to help him!" she hissed. Her blue eyes were determined and accusatory.

Cassie's own eyes narrowed, glaring up at the girl, her face taking on that dangerous expression again, "Do you really think so low of me that you honestly believe I would let my friend be burnt alive?" she asked, her voice low.

The serving girl's face went red and she averted her eyes, "How can I help?" she murmured.

"Not here," Gaius cut in and they followed him back up the stairs to his chambers.

Cassie closed the door behind her, "Do you know how to reverse Merlin's aging spell?" she asked.

The old man nodded in their first stroke of luck of the day, "I already looked it up, in case something like this happened," he gestured at an open book on his table of potions.

"Can we help?" Danielle asked.

He shook his head, "It is a very complicated potion. You should focus on breaking this enchantment, or it will all be for nothing," he sat, his words final as he placed his glasses on his nose and began working on his potion.

The two women looked at each other. Despite always being at odds, they were often on the same side. They cared about the same people, Like Gwen and Merlin and Gaius. They only had time to glare at each other for a few moments when the door burst open and Lancelot ran in. He had a bruise on his jaw that looked even fresher than Cassie's and she assumed he and Leon had exchanged blows to get him out of the council chambers and stop him from tackling Arthur. Sometimes she wondered how the knights of Camelot would do as a football team. Maybe she'd teach them.

"Gwen's been released!" he panted.

Neither woman looked surprised.

"Yeah, cause they figured out she's just a victim of the enchantment, so can you come play nice to help us figure out how to break it?" Cassie asked.

"How?" he asked, taking a seat.

"Merlin put his life on the line for Gwen," Danielle informed him.

Lancelot grinned, "That sounds like something he might do," he looked between the two, "So do we have any leads to breaking the spell?"

"The pure love of another," Cassie quoted sarcastically.

He shook his head, still smiling, "My love for Guinevere is pure," he told her.

She rolled her eyes, but Danielle didn't, "Wait, what if that's it? It's simple. Gwen loved Lancelot as of yesterday, and all it would take was his love to remind her. It's true love's kiss!" she exclaimed and this time Cassie's eye roll almost knocked her over with its force. But Lancelot was apparently on board. The redhead turned to the other woman, "If you love the prince as much as you claim to," the brunette's eyes narrowed dangerously but the servant pretended not to see, "You should be able to break the spell by kissing him," she spoke the words like they were a challenge and in some ways they were. Ryan, who had been suspiciously absent for all of this, had influenced her to believe that Cassie didn't really love her prince. When there was little Ryan knew about it. She couldn't blame the girl. Ryan had helped her. He was her friend. Of course she was going to believe him. But she was wrong and Cassie intended to prove it.

"Fine, but we need a plan. Me getting Arthur to kiss me should be easy, I'll just jump on him. Getting Gwen to kiss Lancelot? Not so easy. You don't want to hurt her, or scare her," she pointed out, speaking mostly to the knight.

"We can tell her that Lancelot is leaving and he wants one last kiss goodbye," Danielle suggested. She was quite the romantic that one. Cassie thought it was a stretch, but if they made the circumstances dire enough, maybe.

She nodded, "Tell her he's been banished for trying to save her. Then she might go for it," she stood and the other two looked at her in question. "Might as well get this over with now," she said and turned to walk from the room.

 **XXX**

Her walk down to Arthur's chambers was deliberately slow. She was focused on keeping her fear and anger in check. If she found him with Gwen, she might not be able to control her short temper, friendship be damned. But when she knocked on the prince's door, it was his calm voice that asked her to come in.

He was alone in the room, his back against one of the posts of his bed, staring at her. It took all her self-control not to just run into his arms. She didn't. Instead she stood just inside the door, unsure of how to proceed. Despite her false bravado for Danielle and Lancelot, she had very sincere doubts that this was true love or pure love or whatever other nonsense Danielle or that book could spew. Real life didn't work that way.

Thankfully he spoke first, "Is my love for Guinevere really the product of an enchantment?" he asked her. He looked so conflicted though it was clear it bothered him to be so transparent in front of her. He'd always had a terrible poker face.

Instead of answering, she started walking towards him. He stiffened, his back straighter, drawing himself up into a tense line. She ignored it and kept walking. She stopped just in front of him, in almost the same place of their first kiss. It was almost funny how similar this one was to that one. Finally she answered him, "Kiss me and figure it out," her voice was low, husky, her anger simmering in it.

His eyes went wide then narrowed at her, he wasn't going through with it, so she stepped closer, looking down as she lined up her feet just in front of his, her skirts swishing against his legs. Then she looked up again. He looked upset. But there was none of the love he used to have for her, none of the affection. Her confidence was wavering, so she placed her hands on his chest, wincing when he flinched away. He let her keep her hands there though, and didn't stop her when she ran them up his chest, fingers smoothing over his collar bones and up his neck to the back of his head. Then he pushed her away.

Hands on her waist, the first time he'd touched her since they'd fought, he pushed her back a few steps to move out from between her and the bedpost to stand at the end of his bed, facing away from her. "You should go," he murmured and she turned away, jaw clenched.

Her anger was bubbling up again and she took a few steps back towards the door, trying to put some distance between them so she didn't whirl around and punch him. That wasn't exactly the 'pure love' the book had been talking about. But controlling her fury was hard. And after making it to the archways that separated his bed area from the rest of his room, she whirled around, marching back over to him where he still faced away from her. She grabbed his shoulder, whirling him around, her other hand going to his other shoulder to launch herself up to kiss him. He froze, but she persisted, moving her lips against his. It took another few seconds, but he responded, his arms wrapping around her, his lips moving with hers, sliding his tongue into her mouth in a desperate kiss that they both needed. Arthur slid his hands down to lift her up, her knees going around him, and he dropped them back onto the bed, his hands moving over her body back to her face. He cupped her cheek and she winced at the pressure he put on her bruised cheekbone. Her wince boke them apart and he looked up at her with shocked blue eyes. His fingers trailed lightly over the bruise and he leaned up and kissed it gently.

"What was I thinking?" he asked.

She shook her head, "You weren't," she told him. His hand slid into her hair as he pulled her down for another kiss, but she stopped him, climbing off of him and off the bed. "The enchantment is broken, but this doesn't fix anything. And right now I don't have time," she turned and hurried out of the room before she could think too much about the hurt and confused face that watched her go.

Gaius was alone when she returned, and he was maybe halfway done with the potion. She sat and watched him, her mind flying a mile a minute, but she was too exhausted by the whole ordeal to even listen to it. Danielle returned not much later, smiling. Apparently Lancelot had succeeded.

The potion was not finished until early the next morning and Merlin escaped being burned alive by the skin of his teeth.

It had been a long day, but just another day in Camelot. At the end of it, all was well, but Merlin could sense the fissures that had begun between his friends, ones he feared would lead to much worse consequences.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: So in my reviews I've gathered that readers are iffy about Danielle. I promise she's not all that bad, guys. One of Danielle's main characteristics is that she is loyal to a fault. At this point in the story, she's just loyal to Ryan. I hope I kind of explained that in this chapter. But looking at it simply, her closest friend in this new place, told her that this other person hurt them and is lying to everyone, and she's going to believe him. She's learning slowly that Cassie isn't all that bad and their relationship will definitely change.**

 **On another note, I will no longer be able to update as frequently. I started a new job and I work full time, plus school. I'll still update once to twice a week, but please be patient with me! Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16: Skipping Hearts

**A/N: I'm sorry it's been a week since I last updated, but I'm back on track and more on top of things. Please enjoy this chapter!**

 **XXX**

Gwaine fixed his shirt again. He fiddled with his belt, and the saddle bag, and had checked on the basket of food twice. She was late, he knew she was, but he had known it would be a long shot asking the princess to get her to come. He knew she didn't like Cassandra, and he thought he understood why. The strange brunette was the exact opposite of what a polite and proper lady should act like.

The castle doors opened again and he tensed, looking up only to see Sir Leon exit and hurry down the steps. The blonde knight nodded at him and he returned it. He liked the knight, actually. Though he would never admit it. Leon was noble and fair, and those were qualities he appreciated.

Gwaine himself, was neither of those things, though Arthur had once described him as noble. He hadn't even been able to stick around Camelot for too long, always heading off whichever way the wind took him and limping back when he needed time to detox after drinking his way through half of Camelot's surrounding kingdoms. But he was finding himself more and more drawn to the castle. He had friends there, something he hadn't had since he was a boy. And one of those friends was trying to get him a date.

Cassandra had been absolutely delighted when he had shown up at her door with his request. She looked tired, as she often did, as she had since her knight form Puerto Rico showed up. But her eyes lit up when he asked her and she assured him she could pull it off. It made him happy to know he had provided her with some sort of distraction from her misery.

The door opened again and this time the head of golden red hair he'd been looking for popped out. She glared down at him, her lips pursed, but she descended the steps towards him. He grinned.

"My lady," he dropped his top half into a deep bow as she made it to the last step. He kept his eyes on hers and his grin widened when he saw the blush spread across her cheeks.

"I've told you, I'm not a lady," Danielle muttered, approaching one of the horses, turning her back to him. She pet down the animal's nose and smiled at it. "Where are we going?" she asked, turning back to him before he could speak again.

"That's a surprise," he winked and watched as the pink in her cheeks darkened again. She was pretty when she blushed. Not that she wasn't pretty the rest of the time, but especially when the sun caught her hair and drew out the gold, and when her skin turned pink under the few freckles dotted across her nose.

She was quiet, thinking, "We'd best get going then," she turned back to the horse and he worried that she wasn't as enthusiastic about this as he'd hoped. Cassandra had promised to get her to go, but he was hoping she would be a little more excited.

But she was already up on her horse, so he climbed atop his and set off for the spot he had in mind for their picnic. Not too far from the castle, a small stream ran through a pretty clearing with sunshine and tall grass and wildflowers. He assumed she'd like it. Women liked pretty things like that.

He watched her as she rode, her back straight and her eyes set on the path in front of her. He hadn't been able to keep her out of his head since their trip to the beach. He liked her quiet wit and strength and the fact that she seemed so responsible for her sister.

"Where is Leanne today?" he asked, pulling his horse up next to hers.

"With Gaius all day. He's teaching her how to set broken bones. Cassandra promised she would watch her, but I know she isn't as comfortable with children, so I asked Gaius to take her on today," she told him, glancing at him once or twice through her speech but for the most part keeping her gaze on the path ahead of her.

He raised an eyebrow at her explanation, "A lot of thought for a woman you don't like," he noted, watching for her reaction. He was rewarded with her cheeks going pink and her indignation.

Danielle backpedaled, "I don't dislike Cassandra!" she was blatantly lying but she didn't get into why she disliked the woman on what was, according to the very same woman, called a date.

It was clear she wasn't fooling Gwaine though, "Anyone who spends two minutes with you can tell you don't like her. You're not a very good liar," he teased.

Gritting her teeth she decided to be honest with him. If he liked her enough to go through with the elaborate plan of having Cassandra force her to go on this picnic, he could handle a bit of her harsh judgement, "Ryan is a good man and her presence in Camelot has hurt him deeply. She is dishonest," she shrugged.

The man next to her was reduced to silence, which was strange for him, but she appreciated the time it gave her to think. Perhaps she was being a bit harsh, but Danielle had always been strong in her convictions, and hers was a hard mind to change.

"I'm sure that she has her reasons for staying in Camelot. In this world we have to always put ourselves first, it's the only way to survive," Gwaine spoke finally, though she wasn't sure he wasn't just talking about Cassandra anymore.

She fixed him with a glare, "As Leanne's guardian, I've never had that luxury," she informed him. He looked chagrined, "When you care about people you can't simply place yourself ahead of them. That's the point," her words were sharp and he fell silent for a time. She worried that she'd already ruined their 'date', but she wasn't interested in pretending not to have convictions that she did have. Even for the sake of as handsome a man as Gwaine.

He stopped them in a small meadow, more of a clearing really. Dismounting, he reached up a hand to assist her, his self confident grin back in place on his face, "My lady?" he offered.

Raising her eyebrows, she didn't move, "I have a name you know," she reminded him.

His lips pressed together to hide his smile, "My apologies Dani," his hand was still extended to her.

To his surprise she laughed, a small, sweet sound that he liked, and took his hand, allowing him to help her off her horse. "Will I never succeed in having you call me Danielle like everyone else?" she asked once they were close to eye level. She was tall, but he was still taller, but he liked that he didn't have to tilt his head down to see her eyes. They were so endlessly blue.

"Never," he repeated with a wink that made her blush before he turned to unload the blanket and basket of food from the horse. She hung back as he spread out the blanket. It was a large velvet affair, courtesy of Cassandra.

Food had also been arranged by the princess, but she had insisted he take credit. He wasn't about to argue. When he had set up next to the stream, she finally joined him, sitting on the very far edge of the blanket from him.

He poured her wine and held the goblet out to her, which made her stretch towards him to take it. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments, before Gwaine decided he might as well just speak. He began to tell her of his adventures, filtering a few of the details to make himself look good, but it seemed to work. She leaned closer, listened with rapt attention and even laughed once or twice.

Danielle began to speak too, she told him of working for Lay Brenna in Moria and of some of the more ridiculous things the woman had asked of her. They laughed together, and as the afternoon went on she moved closer to him.

When the sun began to dip towards the west they packed up and mounted their horses. She turned to him before they set out. A pretty blush tinged her cheeks but her smile was comfortable with him, "Thank you, today was lovely," she said.

He grinned back, "Thank you for accompanying me. It would have been far too much food for just me," he teased. She ducked her head and laughed.

In all, as they began their ride back to Camelot, Gwaine felt proud of himself. The picnic had gone well. And he enjoyed spending time with Danielle. They rode in an amiable silence through the woods, but about halfway back to the castle he felt a prickling on the back of his neck that years of honed instincts told him they were being watched. He brought his horse closer to hers, his eyes scanning the tree line while he listened for any sound of movement in the woods around them.

The attack was sudden and overwhelming. Seven or more men came up over a ridge and descended on the two riders whose horses spooked. There was no fight. Gwaine drew his sword, but the minute one of them tackled Danielle off her horse, he dropped it. The sight of the knife the man held at her neck was enough to get him to freeze.

Best he could tell, they were slavers. Men headed for the north where freezing snows and deep mines awaited them. A pretty woman and a strong man would probably do them well.

Danielle watched him with wide, terrified eyes. But beneath her terror was a little bit of fight. Fight he would need if they were ever getting out of there. He supposed it came from her need to get home to her sister. From putting someone else first, even in the tough situations. Maybe he could take a page out of her book.

He winked at her as they were hauled towards the wagons full of other people. They were shoved in, Danielle bumping against a terrified boy who couldn't be more than fourteen and Gwaine bumping into her. The gate on the wagon was closed behind them and the horses that pulled it began to move. They went at a slow pace and a few of the slavers walked behind the wagons to keep an eye on their cargo.

Immediately he started looking around, taking in all the details he could to try to find their way out. The wagon had wooden slats for a roof, stacked messily. If he could stand and dislodge them, they might be able to climb out, but it would be difficult. The bars were made of thick wood and went all the way around. There were about six other people in the wagon and it was cramped. The door was latched securely with a metal piece that had probably been stolen from a carriage that was much nicer than this.

Turning back to Danielle, he flashed a confident smile, "We'll be out of here in no time," he lied, as if he had a plan. She still looked scared, but her expression calmed slightly. Now all he had to do was come up with an actual plan and get them out of there or there would definitely be no second date.

Danielle wasn't entirely sure what exactly Gwaine had meant when he told her they would be out of there in no time, but she was fairly certain he hadn't meant after five hours when they finally stopped. The slavers set up camp, started a fire and began to eat. Two always stayed on guard of the wagons. After about an hour of listening to stomachs growl around them, they were finally let off the wagon to eat their captors leftovers. She wouldn't touch the stuff. Their wrists and feet were bound and they sat far from the fire.

"Do you have a plan?" she asked her companion in a whisper as she huddled at his side on the ground under the watch of a scrawny man of maybe twenty. He looked almost sickly with a patchy beard, missing teeth and sallow skin.

The brown eyed man next to her looked around before answering, his expression looked annoyed, and she knew then that she wasn't going to like the plan he had just come up with. Though she assumed she would like it better than being sold into slavery, so she grit her teeth and waited.

"I'm going to fight them, but I need you to distract some of them," he hissed out a corner of his mouth.

She gasped them clamped her mouth shut and looked around to make sure no one had heard, it appeared no one had. "There have to be twenty of them!" she hissed back.

"That's why I need you as a distraction," he told her, "So I don't have to fight them all at once," he smiled and it seemed more genuine this time than any of his others. It was less for her benefit and more because he actually looked like he wanted to smile.

The redhead pursed her lips. She wasn't sure she could do it. Distract all the men. She wished that Merlin was there. He could probably knock out half these men with his hands and feet tied. Then she had an idea. "Give me the signal when you're ready," she whispered.

He nodded and began to inch away from her, towards where two of the slavers had left their swords. She began to move in the opposite direction, wiggling her hands in the ropes that bound them. Since she was a child she had been able to move her thumbs in ways others couldn't. It grossed Ethan out when they were children, but it also made her hands smaller, her thumb joints disappearing into her palms. So when she and Gwaine had both moved enough that all eyes would be on her and far from him, he nodded sharply once and she yanked her hands out of the rope that bound them together, using the leverage she had to push herself to her feet. She was a bit unstable since her feet were so close together, but she swayed only slightly for a few moments, trying to loosen the rope around her feet.

Every eye in the camp was on her and before the slavers could react, she began to chant at the top of her lungs, "Ic thay otto desai…" she was shouting gibberish, pretending she was a witch.

She threw her arms up and the wind picked up ever so slightly a moment later by sheer luck. Gasps echoed around her and the slavers rose, making her nervous. But she continued chanting, worming one foot out of the rope and turning, to glare around the fire. A well timed scuff of her foot kicked dirt into the fire making it sputter.

It seemed like hours, though in reality it was only a few seconds before her captors reacted. One of them lunged for her and she scrambled out of the way, her chanting cutting off. But her distraction had been enough.

Gwaine had managed to steal a knife from the boot of an unsuspecting slaver and cut himself loose. He fought with his fists and had she not been in immediate danger herself, Danielle would have watched, fascinated.

He was vicious, his hands flying, moving with swift precision. He whirled, snatching the sword out of the hand of a slaver who hadn't anticipated the move. The other captives had begun to fight back as well, best they could from their bound positions on the ground. Another of their captors tried to grab her and she threw out her fist the way Gwaine was. It made contact on the mans arm, but not very solidly. Which was probably a good thing seeing as she had tucked her thumb under her other fingers and pain shot through her wrist.

The man lunged for her again, but froze when a sword went into him from the back, the tip poking through his stomach and blood soaking his shirt. The image of Ethan being stabbed just in front of her filled her mind and she had to fight with everything she had to keep it from consuming her.

Instead she dropped to the ground, crawling to the nearest captive and untying his hands. He was a middle aged man but looked like he might be able to fight. She untied a few more captives, trying to keep an eye on Gwaine through the chaos.

He had backed himself into a corner between the two wagons so only a few of his opponents at a time could reach him. One of them swung their sword low, and Gwaine countered it, swiping both upwards till the sword flew out of his opponents hand and into the air. The dark haired man reached up and caught it to begin fighting with two swords.

Armed with more, he suddenly charged through the group, breaking through the other side. His eyes met hers, "Run!" he shouted, and she did, glancing over her shoulder every few feet to check he was following her. Several of the other captives were also running, a few staying to fight.

Some of the slavers gave chase, the majority of them on Gwaine's tail, since he was the one who'd started everything. Well they both had, but Danielle was still sure her role had been small.

The woods were dark and she was unfamiliar with the woods to the north of Camelot. Gwaine quickly took the lead. Although she was unfamiliar with their surroundings, it was clear he wasn't. He was a traveler, a drifter, he had probably camped in these very woods. So she let him lead the way, weaving between trees. The darkness was both their friend and their enemy. It was difficult for them to see, but as they pulled ahead of their captors, it made them more difficult to see as well.

The terrain around them was changing, rocks sticking up from the bed of fallen leaves that covered the ground. It made running more difficult and they had to slow. Suddenly Gwaine yanked her around a corner into a tiny crevice in the rock, hidden from the path they were on. They stood pressed chest to chest in the cramped space. He brought his finger up to his lips to indicate she should be silent. She was.

They heard the slavers run past their spot, but stayed, frozen in place long after the footsteps had faded. This close she couldn't help but stare at him, his rich, dark eyes that even in the low light seemed to shine with gold and mischief. He was so close that she could reach out and touch his unshaven cheek and his furrowed eyebrows. She had to physically stop herself form pushing his messy hair out of his eyes so she could see them better.

If she could tell, and with her lack of experience with men, she was unsure as to whether she could or not, he was similarly affected. His eyes stared into hers and the slightest of frowns tilted his lips downward. She had to stop thinking about his lips or she was going to do something she would regret.

After what felt like forever, he finally slid past her, out of the crevice. They were still silent, but he began to lead the way back through the woods. He found a sheltered spot at the edge of what appeared to be a small cave for them to rest at.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She liked it when he was earnest, and concerned.

"Yes," she whispered, still a bit shaken. She sat against the rock, her posture perfect and her shoulders tense. Her heartbeat had slowed rapidly, leaving her feeling light headed and empty. The image of Gwaine stabbing the man coming at her kept playing in a loop in front of her eyes, cut in with the image of Ethan dying in her arms.

"Hey" she heard and suddenly his face filled her vision as he leaned close, "We're alright. We got out. You were perfect," a smile tipped up one corner of his lips and she found she couldn't take her eyes off them.

Danielle could feel his eyes on hers and finally dragged hers up to meet his. He was staring at her, all trace of teasing gone. She could feel her nerves spiking again as he leaned forward, his lips barely brushing over hers. Then doubt slammed into her and she jumped back, moving away, to a safer distance.

He looked surprised and confused and maybe a little hurt but she couldn't figure out which or why or even what she was feeling. She was exhausted and confused and she was sure Leanne was worried sick about her. Even Cassandra was probably concerned about her.

So she stood, "We should get going," her voice only wavered once and she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

"Yeah," he agreed, his voice gruff and stood to join her. It was the middle of the night and pitch black outside but Gwaine knew the woods so well he pointed them in the right direction. Whenever they passed a gap in the trees, he would look up to chart their course by the stars.

By the time dawn was just over the horizon, they could see the spires of Camelot cutting sharp silhouettes into the yellow pre-dawn light over the horizon.

When they walked into the courtyard, both looked exhausted. They stopped at the bottom of the steps. She turned to him.

"Thank you, for the picnic," she smiled wryly.

He laughed, "You are most welcome, my lady," he swept into a bow with a ridiculous grin. They were back to the status quo, and maybe it was best that way.

At that moment the castle doors flew open and Gwen rushed out and down the steps to hug Danielle, "Oh thank god you're back!" the woman exclaimed into her shoulder, "When you didn't return we sent a few knights and they found your horses and things but there was no sign of you, we were so worried!" The dark haired girl's arms were too tight around her throat, but Danielle's eyes were fixed on Gwaine's wink and smile as he retreated up the steps before he turned to look where he was going.

At the top he turned one last time and threw a more genuine smile over his shoulder before entering the castle.

Danielle was in deep trouble when it came to that man, because return to the status quo or not, something between them had definitely changed.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: Hopefully this chapter gave some insight into Danielle, and was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write!**

 **I'm planning on being able to update again before Friday, so keep an eye out. Thank you to all who read!**


	17. Chapter 17: Cold Hearts and Timed Words

**A/N: Look at me getting another chapter out this week! It's a super long one too. So I would apologize, but I don't think any of you are complaining.**

 **XXX**

Morgana knew that sneaking out in the middle of the night during a particularly nasty storm was a bad idea. But she had to see her sister. Her magic had drastically improved, but there was still so much she didn't know and she was too eager to learn. Learning to control her magic kept her safe. It was worth the minor danger of sneaking out.

She had considered asking Ryan to accompany her again but she wasn't going to ask him to go out in this weather.

The hood of her cloak did little to protect her from the lashing rains and after about the twelfth time it was blown off her head, she just left it down, thoroughly soaked by the time she reached the cave Morgause was taking shelter in. She ducked inside and shivered, shaking water off her cloak. The blonde looked up from her position by the fire and smiled.

"Sister, I did not expect you to come," she rose, "Come by the fire, dry off," she ushered the taller woman closer to the happy little fire blazing on a tiny pile of wood. Morgause spoke a spell and suddenly Morgana felt warm and dry. She grinned in thanks.

"I wanted to come practice," she explained.

Morgause nodded and turned to her. They began to go over spells, these designed for battle magic. She was learning how to fight her enemies, her oppressors. These spells made her strong and powerful and she relished it.

When it had been a few hours, nearing dawn now, Morgana pulled up her hood and went back out into the rain with a hug from her sister. It was even worse now, thunder rumbling the sky and lightning lighting her way. She dripped her way through the castle, returning to her room in a wet mess. The rain had soaked her through and she shivered. She remembered the spell her sister had used and fumbled over the words for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she spoke the spell. Or at least what she thought was the spell. Instead of making her warm and dry, the spell brought another chill to her, seeping deep into her bones. She shivered, curling in on herself, but she seemed unable to shake this cold. Soaked, and freezing, she tried to go to the fire, but her numb legs couldn't hold her and she crumpled to the ground. Using the little strength she had, Morgana dragged herself over towards her fireplace. She murmured the spell to light her fire and by some miracle it worked. The fire warmed her slightly and she curled up in front of it, trying to ease the ice in her veins.

She must have fallen asleep, because she woke when the door opened. It was Gwen. The girl gasped and hurried to her side, a hand placed on her forehead and another checking her pulse the way Gaius had taught her.

"Guards!" Gwen shouted, "Guards!" Morgana knew from the tone of her servant's voice, her condition must be dire. She attempted to smile at her friend, but felt her eyelids flutter closed instead. She was still so cold.

 **XXX**

Merlin tailed Gaius down to Morgana's chambers. The guard who'd been sent to fetch Gaius said that Gwen had sounded distressed. The two were up immediately, rushing for the door, knowing this could not be good.

When they entered, Gwen knelt on the floor, her arms wrapped around a shivering and apparently unconscious Morgana. The king's ward looked freezing, her hair and clothes soaked despite the fire.

"Help get her up," Gaius instructed the guards. The two men surged forward and helped lift Morgana into a chair by the fire. The physician leaned over her and check her pulse, her breathing, her temperature.

Merlin hovered behind him, twisting his hands in worry. Morgana's lips were blue and her skin was paler than even it usually was. She didn't look good. Gwen came to his side and took his arm, clutching at it so tightly he feared she might leave a bruise, but he didn't care. He was just as concerned as she was.

After a moment, Gaius turned to them, "She is gravely ill, Gwen, get her into something dry and warm," he instructed, herding the men out of the room. The serving girl sniffled and nodded, her jaw set.

They waited outside in the hallway and when they re-entered, Gwen was adding blankets to Morgana's lap. The lady was now awake, but appeared groggy. She was wearing a thick dress with furs piled around her shoulders and blankets laden on her lap. Though she still appeared to be shivering.

"How are you feeling my lady?" Gaius asked, his voice soft.

Blinking rapidly, she focused her attention on him, "Cold," she shivered again.

He nodded, though that much was obvious, "When did your symptoms begin?" he asked, sitting in a chair next to her.

She frowned, "I-I don't remember, sometime during the night," she looked up at Gwen who still hovered at her side, nervously adjusting blankets. Their friendship was obvious in the care with which the servant looked after her mistress and the way Morgana doted on her, treating her more like a friend than a servant. It was sweet really.

Gaius turned to Merlin, "Go fetch me hot water and ginger for tea," he instructed.

Merlin nodded and raced out of the room, down to the kitchens. He skirted between different kitchen hands, maneuvering his way through the bustling kitchens. Breakfast would be served to all the castle's residents soon and Gretta was snapping orders like a drill sergeant. He managed to escape her notice, for which he was grateful, he just wanted to get the tea back up to Morgana.

When he returned with a clay cup and a kettle full of hot ginger tea, Uther was in the room. The king's face was creased with worry as he stood next to his ward, clutching her hand and glaring down at his physician.

Gaius was testing Morgana's breathing under the watchful eyes of his king. She seemed to be having trouble breathing, like there was something caught in her lungs. Gaius backed away and took the cup from Merlin. He handed it to the woman who winced at the bitter taste but drank the cup anyway. Her hands shook as she did, the shudders that went through her at her remaining cold.

He was troubled by her apparent inability to shake the cold. The room itself was warm, a large fire in the fireplace and candles burning around her. The furs wrapped over her shoulders and blankets on her lap looked warm and her toes peeking out from beneath them were covered by several pairs of socks. Gwen stood behind her, rubbing heated dry clothes over her hair, squeezing the water dripping from it into a bowl on the floor. Yet the lady looked like she was still out in the cold, her lips blue around the rim of the cup and her skin so pale it was almost translucent.

"What is it?" the king demanded of Gaius. His hand still clutched the free one of his charge.

The physician pursed his lips, "I cannot say for certain sire," he answered, "Her symptoms are like those of pneumonia, but at a very advanced stage. She would have been ill for days to have symptoms this severe," he seemed concerned, and Merlin knew why.

The only explanation was magic. But Morgana had magic, he didn't understand how she could have been cursed. It wasn't something Morgause would do to her. Though someone who was unaware of her magical abilities could have cursed her to spite the king. Sometimes he forgot how publically fond of his ward Uther was. This could possibly be an attack on Camelot through the least deserving in the fight against magic.

Uther seemed to come to the same conclusion, "This is the work of Sorcery," he declared.

Morgana's eyes went wide and she choked on her tea, coughing and shivering. All attention went to her suddenly, Uther taking her other hand, Gwen patting her back gently, and Gaius leaning in to listen to her cough.

Merlin took the opportunity to duck out of the room to try to find a magical way to help Morgana. Upon his exit he found a small crowd outside the door. Ryan stepped up to him, glaring down at hi with a sort of desperation in his expression that belied feeling for the woman inside. Behind Ryan was Arthur, Lancelot, Danielle and hanging to the back, as far away from the prince as possible was Cassie looking absolutely miserable in her concern.

"Is she alright?" Ryan demanded, his voice rough, made more so by the accent he and Cassie shared. His dark eyes glared down at Merlin, as if he wanted to shove past him and into the room. It was a look Merlin had seen before, a man's worry over a woman he was falling in love with. It was a dangerous look that meant dangers consequences. He looked past the fake knight at Cassie whose lips were pressed together in a firm line in her disapproval.

"Morgana is ill, Gaius isn't certain yet, but thinks it may be pneumonia," everyone's faces shifted into expressions of dread. All except Ryan's.

He frowned, "But Gaius can cure her, right?" he asked, glancing behind him, taking in the expressions of his companions.

Cassie stepped forward, putting a hand on his arm, he tensed. Both still bore faint marks from their last fight, her cheek still a faint yellow-blue from the bruising and the same color around his eyes from the broken nose. "It's harder to treat those things here, Ry," she whispered, "But I know Gaius will do his best," her fingers squeezed his arm and she backed off.

Arthur eyed the exchange with anger. Merlin knew why. He knew the princess had been avoiding him, focused on other things because she didn't want to get into the problem at the heart of the rift between the two. The fact that she was lying to him, and always had. He also knew that it was driving the prince up a wall.

"When can we see her?" Ryan asked, still angry.

"I don't know," Merlin shrugged, desperate to get away. He wanted to go search for a magical cure to Morgana's apparently magical ailment. He was frustrated with Ryan for so many reasons, the foremost of which was how miserable he was making Cassie, but his stubbornness in general was not one of Merlin's favorite qualities. The two glared at each other, but after a moment, Ryan stepped back, allowing the shorter man to pass. He slipped past and made for Gaius's chambers, to try to find a spell to cure her.

Maybe three minutes later, the door burst open and Cassie and Danielle entered, "What can we do?" the brunette asked, and despite the dire situation, he smiled.

 **XXX**

Ryan remained outside Morgana's chambers, pacing in front of the door while he waited to be let in. He knew the king and the physician were in there. And Morgana's servant, Gwen, who he was fairly sure was supposed to be the one to marry the prince leaning against the wall and scowling at him. He knew the prince didn't like him, and the feeling was mutual. He knew Arthur thought he was there to hurt Cassie and if that's what it took to get her back home, then that was what he would do.

When the door finally opened and Gaius led the king out of the room, both men froze, staring at them. Uther spared a glare for the foreign knight, but turned to Arthur, "The lady Morgana has fallen gravely ill. She must rest. We must find the sorcerer responsible for the curse," he explained.

"Sorcerer?" he and Arthur asked at the same time. They glared at each other for a moment.

Gaius spoke up, "It appears that this illness is the result of a curse. The only way to heal her may be to break the curse," he explained.

"I will have the castle searched right away sire, and send out search parties. If the sorcerer is still in Camelot, we will find him," the prince insisted. He cast a concerned glance at Morgana's door, but turned and strode down the hallway.

Ryan waited, having a stand-off with the king. He wanted to see her. It was clear that Uther decidedly did not want him to see her. But he finally whirled around and marched down the hall without saying a word to the other man. With one last warning look from Gaius, he rushed into the room.

Morgana lay in her bed, covered by blankets and furs curled on her side, facing the door, shaking violently. Her eyes were open and the smallest of smiles stretched her blue tinged lips at the sight of him.

He went to her immediately, climbing onto her bed and taking one of her freezing hands in his. "What happened?" he asked.

Her eyes widened slightly to tell him to keep quiet, "Gwen," she requested, the serving girl who was stoking the fire, standing immediately and coming to the bed.

"Yes, my lady?" the serving girl asked, her voice kind and indulgent.

"Would you bring me a few more blankets?" the brunette in the bed asked, her voice raspy with cold.

The other woman nodded, "Of course," she hurried out of the room.

Waiting until the door closed, Morgana spoke, "Oh Ryan," she groaned, "This is all my fault, I t-tried a sp-spell and it went wrong," she stuttered as her teeth began to chatter.

There was a sharp ache in his chest at the sight of her freezing and guilty, "What can I do?" he asked, his own tone more indulgent than Gwen's had been.

Her voice lowered to a whisper, "You must find Morgause. She is the only one who will be able to reverse it," she begged.

"The entire castle is on alert for a sorcerer," he told her, "It will be hard to get in with a known sorcerer, especially to you." The pleading look on her face was unnecessary. He would do anything he needed to in order to save her. He adored her. "I will bring her," he sighed, forcing a smile for her benefit.

"Thank you, Ryan," she whispered, her eyes fluttering in her exhaustion.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead and she felt her heart thump just a little harder than usual. Then he was gone, off to find her sister, to save her life.

Over the next few hours she drifted in and out of sleep, waking up to Gaius leaning over her, testing her temperature. He gave her a smile when her eyes opened but she could see how concerned he was.

He gave her a medicine that tasted awful, but she was too tired to care. She saw Merlin walk past, shooting her a sympathetic smile before disappearing behind the curtain at the back of her room. According to Gaius he was doing some research on her condition.

She really didn't think it would help much but she said nothing. Each time Gaius came to check on her he became progressively more worried. And each time she felt progressively worse. It felt as if the cold was so deep in her bones that it would never leave. She was shaking constantly and a numbness wrapped itself around her brain. She expressed as much to the physician who looked alarmed but only told her to get some rest.

Falling asleep was difficult, but she managed, her body still wracked with cold. At the sound of the king's voice, she felt herself drift towards consciousness but not entirely. She hovered between waking and sleeping, everything sounding as if it was in a dream.

"Gaius, is there no hope?" her guardian asked. His voice was pained and she felt the stirrings of guilt at his tone. She didn't agree with all that Uther did, but he had raised her since she was young and her father died, she respected that he took such good care of her.

The physician's response must have been to the negative, because she could feel the king's hand atop her own where it lay somewhere her half asleep brain couldn't ascertain. "There must be something you can do to save her. Anything," he paused.

Gaius spoke, "I am looking for any cure I may be able to find, but there is little remedy for a curse as powerful as this one," he put in.

Great, so she had cursed herself. The sarcastic voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Cassie's but Uther was speaking again.

"You misunderstand me," he said, his words deliberate, "Anything. Even something of the old religion," he hinted.

Gaius gasped, "Sire, you are not condoning the use of magic?" he questioned.

The king made a frustrated noise, "You do not understand, she is so important to me," he paused and though she couldn't fully make her way to consciousness, her ears strained for his next words, "She is my daughter," he whispered.

"I understand how you feel responsible for her, as if she were your own child, but-" the physician began.

The king cut him off, "No, Gaius, she is my daughter. Her mother and I… when Gorlouse was at war. It was a very lonely time," he spoke the words haltingly, like he didn't know how to admit this to his advisor.

Morgana's mind was reeling. Her father. All this time, she had been living with him and he had known. It was no wonder she looked so much like him, with her green eyes and dark hair. Nothing like her mother's side of the family, or even her father's. Morgause looked like their mother. But Morgana apparently looked like her father. Her real father.

She could feel the pull of unconsciousness take her again and her last thought before falling entirely back asleep was that if she was his daughter and he legally claimed her, then Camelot was rightfully hers.

 **XXX**

Ryan had been trekking through the woods for what had to be two hours. He had no idea how to find Morgause. He had only met her a handful of times when he accompanied Morgana on her excursions to learn magic. She seemed to like him enough, which was a ridiculous thing to be concerned about with everything else going on. The problem was that she moved around a lot and he had no idea if she would still be at the cave they last met her in, or more importantly, where that cave was.

Directions had never been Ryan's forte, always someone else's thing. When the band was on tour it was Tom's job, since he and Cassie both had no sense of direction and Ben and Jon couldn't be bothered. It meant that while Ryan had a general idea of where the blonde sorceress was hiding out, he was pretty sure that he had passed the bush shaped like Spongebob already. Which meant he was going in circles, which meant he was not making progress.

He groaned in frustration. It was cool out and the rain from the night before had dissipated, leaving the woods muggy and dripping. It wasn't exactly ideal searching weather. He turned and went a different direction entirely, wandering through the brush, his feet squelching in the wet dirt. When he began to go downhill ever so slightly, he spotted a halfway concealed cave entrance at the bottom of the little hill he was at the top of. He hurried towards it, slowing as he reached the mouth.

"Hello?" he called into it, hearing only the tiniest of echoes in answer. But it looked like the right place, so he stepped forward into it, creeping along quietly, or as quietly as he could manage in the thick soled boots. "Morgause?" he asked, his voice soft.

"What are you doing here?" her voice answered from behind him and he jumped, whirling around in the dark space to come face to face with the blonde woman. She looked a mix of angry and skeptical, but it was clear she was waiting for an answer.

"I- uh- It's Morgana. She tried a spell and it went wrong and she's really sick. The physician doesn't think she's going to make it," he explained.

The sorceress's brown eyes went wide, "Then we must go to her at once," she said and led the way out of the cave. Her cloak appearing on her shoulders the moment she stepped out into the cloudy daylight.

Though she had much shorter legs, Ryan struggled to keep up with her through the woods as she made her way back towards the castle.

Of course the petite blonde had no trouble finding her way through the forest. Though Ryan supposed that could be due to her superior sense of direction, or her magic, or both.

When they arrived, there were guards everywhere, the entire castle on high alert because of the suspected sorcery against Morgana. He managed to sneak her past some guards, forcing her to keep her hood up and head down. She had wanted to fight them, but in broad daylight that would attract too much attention.

Instead he snuck her through hall after hall, ducking into corners, alcoves, staircases so they wouldn't be spotted by any of the guard. The guards around Morgana's door would be harder to get past and he paused, trying to think of some way to distract them. Before he could, a whispered spell from Morgause caused the guards to slump over, asleep.

"Come quickly," she whispered, moving down the hallway, "It will not last long," she paused at the door, indicating that he should enter first. He did, to find the room empty. Morgause brushed past him, making a beeline for her sister's bed.

Morgana was asleep, curled up and shivering under a small mountain of blankets. The blonde sat on her bed, taking one of her hands and murmuring to her. Ryan stood back, feeling as if he was intruding on a private moment, the way he always did when around the two.

The brunette's eye's fluttered open, and she smiled, her blue tinted lips turning up at the corners. "Sister," her voice was weak.

Morgause shushed her, leaning over her to check her vitals. She murmured an incantation, repeating it over and over until her sister's skin began to warm with color and her shaking slowed and stopped altogether.

When the blonde stopped speaking, the other woman sat up, smiling at both her sister and Ryan in turn, "Thank you, for bringing her to me," she said to him, holding out a hand for him. He went to her immediately, around the bed to sit by her side, facing her. He placed a hand at the back of her head and drew her forward to kiss her forehead.

"I'm just happy you're feeling better," he told her with a smile.

She returned it, then seemed to remember something and frown. Looking between the two, she sighed, "I'm leaving Camelot. Sister, I want to go with you to learn magic, so I can take what is rightfully mine," her determined eyes bored into those of her companion.

"What is rightfully yours?" Morgause repeated, confused.

The brunette's expression turned sour, "I heard Uther speaking while I was asleep," she began, the bitterness in her voice clear, "He is my father. He has lied to me my entire life, kept me from the throne that is rightfully mine."

Ryan of course had suspected this, though according to most legends, Arthur and Morgan Le Fay were half siblings on his mother's side. But Cassie had been right that the lore of King Arthur generally didn't apply here. But to hear it from Morgana, the fact that she knew, that she had just found out, was concerning indeed.

"How is leaving going to help?" he asked. Both women turned to him and he elaborated, "Now that you know Uther is your father, you can claim the throne, why would you leave it?" he asked.

Morgause spoke for her sister, "Uther will never let Morgana claim the throne. To him she is illegitimate. We must leave to mount an attack on Camelot, to take it from him."

The brunette nodded in agreement, looking up at Ryan with her wide, green eyes, "You could come with us," she offered, the hope in her tone almost breaking his heart.

For a moment, he was about to say yes. Just leave everything and go with her and pursue whatever was between them. But then he remembered his fight with Cassie. Her accusation that he was just as bad as she was rang in his ears. He didn't belong here any more than she did. And he certainly couldn't just leave. He needed to get home, and get Cassie home. Morgana was set out to ruin her life if she went through with this. She couldn't be happy with essentially being a princess. She just had to be a queen.

"I don't know," he finally answered, casting around for an excuse, "I- I can't leave Cassie. I'm duty bound to protect her," he lied. It was one of the few he'd ever told her. He didn't like lying to her.

Her face fell, but she nodded, "Then sister, let us go," she turned back to the blonde and attempted to get up. She made it only halfway off the bed before running out of energy and collapsing back against the pillows.

"You need to rest. Tomorrow, come to me at midnight, and we will leave Camelot," Morgause instructed, helping her back into the bed while his hands fluttered uselessly.

"I will see you then," a warm smile graced the lady's face, though it cooled when she turned to Ryan, "Will you help her get out of the castle unnoticed?" she asked.

"Of course," he leaned forward to kiss her head once more and her eyes had regained their warmth when he pulled away. He helped Morgause get beyond the castle grounds and then turned back, unsure of what to do.

He knew that letting Morgana just leave was not a good idea, but he didn't want to interfere, or change history too much. But if he didn't interfere, she could get herself killed, and he cared about her, that much was obvious. He spent his evening roaming the castle, deep in thought, but couldn't bring himself to do what he had to until the next night, after saying his heartfelt goodbyes to Morgana.

 **XXX**

Cassie had been relieved to hear of Morgana's miraculous recovery, the king nearly skipping in his joy when he came to thank Gaius. She was happy, but a new secret weighed on her.

Merlin had come rushing up from Morgana's room the day before to tell them what he had heard. While hiding behind a curtain in the back of her room, studying his books for any magic that might save her, Uther had arrived. Keeping quiet, so as not to be caught with magic, he had been unable to stop himself from eavesdropping whilst the king revealed to Gaius that he was Morgana's illegitimate father.

It was certainly surprising, but to Cassie, it didn't change much. Uther already treated Morgana like a daughter. Her actually being his daughter would change her life in title only. At least assuming that the laws of Camelot dictated that the crown must be passed to a male heir. If it was just the first born child, then Morgana was the rightful heir to the throne. Though she was sure the legitimacy of the child came into play. At least that's how it was on Game of Thrones. Not that any of it mattered because it was still a secret.

At least that's what she thought until Ryan banged on her door. She was surprised to see him and more than a little wary. They hadn't really talked since she'd broken his nose, and though it wasn't the first time they'd been in a fist fight, it was certainly the angriest.

"I have been fighting myself all day about whether or not to tell you this," he announced as he barged into her room without so much as a hello.

Raising her eyebrows, she closed the door after him and turned to him where he stood by her table, stewing. "And what exactly would that be?" she asked. He glared at her, clearly not ready to divulge the information just yet. But Cassie was impatient, especially with him lately, "Either tell me now or get out," she snapped.

His glare intensified but he opened his mouth. And then disaster spilled out, "Uther is Morgana's father," he stated, and then continued before she could tell him she knew, "And she knows, and she's planning on leaving Camelot with Morgause, her half sister so she can learn enough magic to come back and take her rightful place on the throne," he said.

"What?" Cassie's tone was sharp, and his glare informed her he wouldn't be repeating himself. So she asked the next question on her list, "When?"

He looked a little sheepish and dread built in her chest. "Tonight, midnight," he told her. The ten o'clock bells had rung a few minutes before his entrance.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," she groaned and tore out of the room, leaving Ryan a nervous mess behind her.

When she got to Morgana's room, she didn't even bother to knock, just barged in. Her friend stood by the window, fully dressed, a single candle burning on her vanity. She whirled around in surprise when Cassie came in.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"What're you doing leaving?" the shorter woman demanded in return.

Green eyes glared at her, suddenly defensive, "Did Ryan tell you everything?" she asked.

With a sigh, Cassie stepped closer, "Most of it I already knew. He was trying to look out for you. I can see how he feels about you. I've known him too long for him to hide it from me," she shrugged.

Morgana's face softened, "And are you also just trying to look out for me?" she asked, an edge to her words.

The princess nodded, "Of course I am. You're my friend and I love you. I want you to be safe and here and happy," she explained.

The other woman pursed her lips, "I cannot be both here and happy. Not where the people closest to me have been lying to me for so long," she paused, "Cassie you must understand, I cannot be here," she pressed.

Cassie was torn. It was so clear that Morgana was unhappy and wanted to get away, but if she did and she came back to take over Camelot, she would end up either getting hurt, or hurting people who loved her.

"I just don't want to see anyone hurt. We love you and we want you to stay," she said, her voice soft.

"Will you stop me from leaving?" she asked.

Again, Cassie considered. For Morgana's own good, she could try to stop her, but she wanted her friend to make the decision on her own.

"No, but I won't see you get hurt. What if the guards catch you leaving?" she asked.

Without thinking about it, Morgana answered, "I will take them out of my way," her voice was dangerous.

"Then I will stop you. Are you going to take me out of your way?" she asked, challenging the taller woman.

But Morgana just smiled, "I won't have to," her eyes glowed and then something hit Cassie hard in the back of the head and everything faded to black.

When she woke, guards surrounded her and Ryan was holding her up.

"What the hell?" she mumbled, but Ryan was speaking.

"They were sorcerers, they attacked us, and when they hit the lady Cassandra, I went to her and they took the lady Morgana and vanished into thin air," he told the guards and Arthur who was standing next to them, glaring daggers at Ryan.

"What?" Cassie glared at him too. He was lying to cover for Morgana. He stared down at her, his eyes begging her to go along with him, to not rat her friend out.

After a few seconds she sighed, "It all happened so fast, one of them hit me and that's the last thing I remember," she lied through her teeth, barely able to look at Arthur.

She was ushered back to her room to rest, but when Merlin came by to check on her, she could tell that he knew the truth. And while they sat and talked it over, she felt glad that there was one person in Camelot she would never have to lie to.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: This is the major turning point in the story, but it may not be clear right away. Hope you enjoyed, leave me a review to let me know what you liked!**


	18. Chapter 18: Blue

**A/N: Hi all, sorry for the lack of updates of late. I've been so busy. I work 38 hours a week and am a full time student. Midterms are upon us so updates will be less frequent. But I will try to be better!**

 **XXX**

The castle had been in a panic since Morgana disappeared. Complete and utter chaos reigned and Uther was as much as slave to it as everyone else. The threat of sorcerers infiltrating the castle and kidnapping the king's ward, right under everyone's noses was one that had everyone from the servants to the knights on edge.

The fact that the king had apparently lost his mind was not helping people remain calm in the face of this attack. Uther certainly wasn't calm. He barked orders constantly, having the castle searched from top to bottom, sparing no room or sensibility. He wanted to know how they got in, how they got out, how many of them there were. He sent out search parties, ones Arthur coordinated, his father's fear over Morgana's well being shared.

For Arthur's part he was angry she was gone, and angry that the sorcerers who had taken her had attacked Cassie in the process. He was also terrified. Terrified that Morgana was in the hands of people who clearly had an ill intent against Camelot. She was like a sister to him and though they bickered often, they were still very close and he hoped she was giving her kidnappers hell.

He was leading one of the search parties to the east. It was likely that was where she had been taken, since the kingdom to Camelot's northeast was at war amongst itself, and the unrest made it easy for bandits, slavers and sorcerers to come and go through the lands unnoticed and unhindered.

But the unrest made it dangerous for knights of Camelot to be seen there. As prince he was both there to lead his men and to serve as a diplomat in the case of push back from the armies there.

Merlin rode alongside him, looking even more worried than he did. He had known the man had a fondness for Morgana, they all did, but it didn't explain the agitation clear in the servant's posture.

Lancelot and Leon rode just behind them, both painfully aware of the tension held in the men in front of them. They were tense themselves. Leon had known Morgana almost as long as he'd known Arthur. When he came to Camelot six years ago as a naïve young man, he'd spent much time with the prince and the kings ward. Back then she'd been an angry teenager who wanted to fight with a sword more than she wanted to try on shoes. Her fire was still there, but she had settled into her more traditionally feminine role and wore it with grace. She was certainly the most beautiful woman at court, and one of the most gracious.

Lancelot didn't know Morgana very well, but Gwen sung her praises, proud of her longtime friend. From the time Gwen was old enough to be a servant, she had been Morgana's. The two had grown up together and he appreciated the respect with which the lady treated his love. Gwen had been distraught at her appearance, barely able to hold it together to complete her usual duties. When he left she'd been curled up in a chair in Cassandra's room, sleeping off some of her tears. The princess herself was nowhere to be found, despite the fact that Gaius was fairly sure she had a concussion and should be in bed.

Several knights followed them, with more soldiers tailing behind, everyone on the lookout for bandits or any clues that the sorcerers who took Morgana had come that way. After a day of running down false leads, Arthur commanded they make camp.

Nervous whispers flitted through the group. These territories were dangerous, especially at night and no one could blame the men for not wanting to be camped out in the bandit infested woods overnight.

However Arthur seemed entirely oblivious to his men's concerns. He unsaddled his horse and began to pat the animal down.

Leon, Lancelot and Merlin exchanged a look before the servant sighed, "I'll go talk to him," his tone was resigned.

Merlin approached the prince, "Arthur," he spoke softly, any annoyance from the moment before gone, "Are you sure we should be staying here overnight?" he asked, still gently, knowing the prince was a ticking time bomb.

Arthur glared, "Of course I'm sure, Merlin. Just because you're scared of bandits shouldn't mean we all have to go home," he snapped.

With a patient sigh the dark haired man tried again, "Don't you think it would be a little safer to move out of the woods to camp?" he suggested.

It was about then that the time bomb went off, "Merlin, this is Morgana, we're here to find. She is like a sister to me and I refuse to lose time finding her because you have a bad feeling," he shouted. Everyone was staring but the prince just growled in annoyance and grabbed his canteen, heading for the river they could hear not too far from them.

Merlin turned back to the knights and shrugged, helpless to change the angry prince's mind.

 **XXX**

Back in Camelot Cassie was vaguely concussed and absolutely furious. Her rage seemed to permeate her wing of the castle and Ryan knew well enough to stay away.

She had screamed at him in both languages for about an hour that morning, about how stupid he was and how selfish he was being and how he had quite possibly just ruined someone's life. Someone he professed to care about. He had just stared at her stoically, rolling his eyes occasionally. She'd punched him again. A hard sock to the stomach on her way out that had him doubled over both from the surprise and force of the attack.

In her room she perched on her table, finishing a song she had been working on and wishing she had an electric guitar to play the angry music with. "This is a night you'll regret in the morning," she sang along as she brought the pick down against her strings with more force than necessary.

The door opened, no knock preceding it and Danielle walked in, casting a dark look at the instrument in the brunette's hands. She began tidying the room, sending the occasional glare over at its occupant. She had clearly spoken to Ryan.

Finally Cassie had enough, "Oh just get out," she snapped, catching the taller woman by surprise. She didn't move, "You heard me, get the fuck out," the princess snapped again. Danielle finally moved, the look on her face shocked and a little hurt at the harshness of Cassie's words. But she was done putting up with this woman who so clearly disliked her without even trying to understand her, so she said so, "I don't have the energy to put up with your bad attitude over a situation that you have no hope of understanding that has absolutely nothing to do with you. I'm relieving you of your duties as my personal maid and I'll find you somewhere else in the castle to work."

That stopped the redhead in her tracks. She hadn't thought the false princess would ever become so furious with her that she would dismiss her. "Yes my lady," was all she managed and she caught Cassie's eye roll out the corner of her eye as she exited the room, a little confused as to why she felt guilty over what had just happened.

Cassie for her part was relieved. She had only been keeping the girl on because it was her one truce with Ryan. She hadn't had the heart to dismiss her entirely, but she was done trying to put up with her as a maid. Now that Morgana was gone, it wouldn't be too hard on Gwen to help Cassie with the few tasks she allowed her maid to do. And Morgana was certainly gone. She had run off with her half-sister to learn magic so she could bring down Camelot.

Wracking her brain, she couldn't think of the king Arthur legends she knew about Morgan Le Fay. There were legends, just not ones she recalled details of. She supposed Ryan knew, but it would be a cold day in hell before she asked him.

So to distract herself, she decided to go find Gwen. The servant had been close to Morgana and she was probably even more devastated by the lady's disappearance than Cassie was. Earlier than morning the curly haired woman had been asleep in Cassie's room when she left to go yell at Ryan but she had since vacated.

Checking the kitchens, the laundry room and some of the larger store rooms to find Gwen, Cassie finally turned towards the lower town and her house. But that too was empty. She was on her way back up the front steps when she had an idea of where the woman might be.

She knocked gently on Morgana's door before entering, finding Gwen curled up on the lady's bed, her eyes puffy and red.

"Cassie," she looked embarrassed and sat up but the shorter woman waved her hands to dismiss any obligation. She walked across the room and slid off her shoes before climbing onto the bed as well, placing her hand over Gwens.

"How're you holding up?" she asked sympathetically, her gaze sincere.

Shrugging her shoulders Gwen played with some of the stitching on the comforter with her free hand, nimble fingers picking at the threads. "As well as can be expected," she answered, then looked up, her eyes welling with tears, "I'm so scared for her," she admitted.

Wrapping the taller girl in her arms Cassie rubbed her hand down Gwen's back, "Me too. But this is Morgana we're talking about. Wherever she is, she knows how to handle herself," she promised, trying not to give away too much.

The servant was under the impression that her mistress had been kidnapped by people who meant to do her harm. Cassie knew that Morgana had just run away, but the worry persisted. Anyone who she enlisted to help her make her bid for the throne of Camelot would think they could take advantage of her, and both women worried for her safety in those unsure conditions.

"That's what Lancelot said," Gwen mumbled, sniffling.

That drew a smile out of her friend, "He's a smart man," she said, then looked down at Gwen, "How are you two, by the way?" she asked. She knew that there had to have been some fallout from the spell that made Gwen fall in love with Arthur, though she hoped it was not as extreme as her own problems with the prince.

"Good," Gwen appeared to be trying to keep a smile off her face, so Cassie waited, eyebrows raised. "He's asked me to marry him," the taller girl admitted.

" _What!_ " Cassie shouted, both surprised and happy, "When? _Guinevere_! Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded, a laugh bubbling out of her despite the events of the night before.

Blushing, the bride to be ducked her head, "After the spell was broken. He said he didn't ever want to feel what it was like to be without me again, and asked me to be his wife," she told her friend.

The princess laughed again, "Oh my god! Gwen, that's amazing! I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner!" she hugged her friend tightly.

When she sat back Gwen looked sheepish, "I knew you and Arthur were still fighting, so I didn't want to bring it up," she admitted.

Cassie sighed and took her hands, "Look, you are my friend. No matter what is going on in my life, I want to hear about yours, especially when it's something as big as getting engaged!" she grinned, "Now I want all the details. Did he give you a ring? Do people even do that here?" she asked.

The servant nodded, pulling a thin cord around her neck out of her dress to reveal the simple silver band it was knotted around, "Mostly only nobility give rings for engagement, but Lancelot gave me the wedding ring early," she smiled, running her fingers along the band in a subconscious movement.

"Oh, its beautiful. Have you picked a date yet?" she asked, unable to contain her grin even if she had wanted to.

But at her question, Gwen's expression turned sour, "Since Lancelot is a knight, we need permission from the king to marry," she said, "We have kept our engagement a secret until we can get permission, though I worry he does not hold high enough favor with the king to ask," she frowned, her pretty face becoming worried again.

But Cassie scoffed, "Screw that. I, as probably queen of Puerto Rico at this point, grant you and Lancelot full permission to be married. In fact I support it wholeheartedly," her joking tone was to make her feel better about the lie and brought the smile back to Gwen's face. "Really, I think the two of you know that your love is far stronger than the king saying no because he's grumpy. I am so happy for the both of you," she spoke more sincerely.

Gwen squeezed her hand in thanks, "And I know that you and Arthur will be just fine. Your love is much stronger than a bad fight, or the problems with Ryan," she looked the false princess hard in the eyes, "And I know that whatever it is you aren't telling him, that you have your reasons," she said, indicating that she knew much, much more than she let on.

With a weak smile, Cassie pulled her into another hug, "Thanks" she mumbled into the other woman's shoulder, praying that her insight was right.

 **XXX**

While Ryan was still nursing a bruised stomach from his fight with Cassie earlier, he was much calmer than anyone else in the castle. He had outright refused to join the search parties for Morgana, citing his need to protect his princess in order to stay, though no one believed him. The entire castle knew of the rift between the foreign princess and her knight and saw that he spent as little time with her as possible. But he was willing to let her lie work in his favor.

The real reason he didn't want to leave his room was that he was waiting for a message.

Despite Cassie's angry words, Ryan didn't regret what he'd done. He regretted not figuring it out earlier, before he'd told her. His mind drifted back to his last goodbye with Morgana.

He'd realized just too late that he shouldn't have told Cassie about Morgana's plans, that he would lose all the trust she had in him. So he raced after his lifelong friend, intending to stop her, but when he got to Morgana's room, Cassie was unconscious on the floor, and the other woman was standing over her.

"Wh-What happened?" he asked, staring at the scene in front of him, confused and a little scared of the severe look on her face.

She looked up, her eyes hardening at the sight of him, "What're you doing here?" she demanded.

But he stood his ground, "I asked first," he pushed.

Morgana sighed, "She came here to tell me not to go. To try to convince me to stay, at your request apparently," her accusatory glare would have been enough to make any other man back off, but he found he cared for her too much.

"I came here to stop her," he answered her question and watched as her eyes softened ever so slightly. So he continued, "I realized that I shouldn't have sent Cassie to do what I should have done in the first place. I shouldn't have just let you decide to go, and tell you I couldn't go with you. I should have gotten down on my knees and begged you to stay because I think I'm falling in love with you and I can't let you leave like this," the words fell out of his mouth in a jumble, and his eyes fixed on her, praying she would understand.

He watched as her face softened and she took in his words. She stepped over her unconscious friend, placed her hands on his chest and leaned up to kiss him gently. But that wasn't good enough for Ryan, his arms went around her waist, yanking her body into his and he leaned into her, kissing her with bruising force. This was not a sweet kiss as their previous kisses had been. This was brutal and angry and desperate and they both felt it. When he finally pulled away, panting, her eyes were wide and glassy, and he imagined he looked about as wrecked as she did.

"Don't go," he whispered.

She stepped back, "I must. You don't understand, Camelot is rightfully mine-" he cut her off.

"So stay in it!" he was being unreasonable but he didn't care.

Morgana sighed and placed a hand on his cheek, still too much distance between them but he didn't move. "Camelot is rightfully mine. I will have it, but I will have to take it. And I need to become stronger to do that. Magic is Uther's weakness and I am going to use it to destroy him. But I cannot do that learning magic at night in secret. I must leave," her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

Ryan sighed, "Fine. Then promise me this," he stepped closer to her, so close he had to look almost straight down to look her in the eyes, "Promise me you'll come back and we'll take down Uther together, from the inside."

Her brows furrowed as she considered it, "We can fight Camelot from both sides," she began to nod.

His heart soared, "I'll be your eyes and ears while you're gone. I'll find out everything I can. Go now, before its too late. I'll handle things here," he promised.

Leaning up one last time, she kissed him again, their touch ending far too soon, as she pulled away and slipped out the door without another word. He'd alerted the guards once he was sure she'd had enough time to get out of the castle, silently praying that she'd made it.

He'd looked down at the crumpled figure on the ground, realizing that despite his judgement of his oldest friend, he finally understood why she had so desperately wanted a life here. He had understood the depth of her love for the people around her, people who had become her family. He had found that all in the woman he just let run out the door.

Ryan's attention was snapped back to the present when a light tapping on his window signaled the arrival of his message. He allowed the bird in and gently pulled the small scroll off its ankle.

 _My Dearest Ryan,_ it read. He skimmed through the message, absorbing the information rapidly, before starting his reply.

 _Dearest Morgana_ he scrawled his message in his cramped and messy handwriting, hoping she'd be able to read all the information he had fit onto the tiny piece of parchment before attaching it to the bird's leg and sending it back out the window. He watched it as it disappeared into the clouds, then closed the window and lay back on his bed to read over and over again the words Morgana had sent him. When he had them committed to memory, he tossed the piece of paper into the fire and watched the flames eat up the words _With Love, Morgana_.

 **XXX**

Camp set up and the soldiers having formed watch teams, Merlin watched Arthur stare into the fire. It was clear though that he wasn't really seeing it. He knew that look. That look was guilt. Arthur was going through every possible scenario of how he could have stopped this from happening, how he could have saved her, though Merlin knew there was no way he could have saved her because the only person Morgana needed saving from was herself.

It was hard to watch his friend beat himself up over something that was so far beyond his control. So even though he knew he would regret it, Merlin sat closer to the prince, "It's not your fault, you know," he pointed out.

The blonde man turned a glare on him, "And how is that?" he asked, sarcasm thick in his tone.

"You didn't have anything to do with this," his servant reminded him.

"I could have stopped it," he snapped back, in an attempt to end the conversation, but Merlin wasn't going to let it go.

"How exactly?" he asked, "With your powers of clairvoyance to know that there were sorcerers in the castle or your magical abilities to fight them with?" he countered the princes sarcasm with his own.

Arthur leveled a glare at him and got up, stalking away from the dark haired man. But his shoulders looked less heavy, so Merlin assumed it must have helped. That's what he was there for after all.

 **XXX**

 **A/N: This story is a little more than halfway done but I promise I'm getting there!**


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